Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009

Exchange students soak up American culture at metro-east high school

Aino Pekkarinen, Barbara Walther and Fabian Janda differ from the other students at Metro-East Lutheran High School in that a large part of their school experience includes learning about American culture.

"Some parts of life are easier because shops are open late and people can go everywhere with their cars," said Barbara, an exchange student from Switzerland.

It's the first time Metro-East Lutheran has ever hosted three European exchange students at the same time. The students stay with local host families and participate in various activities at home and at school.

They said there are some differences between American schools and those in their respective hometowns, such as longer class periods compared to those in Finland, the easier courses compared to those in Switzerland and the prevalence of school spirit compared to that of German schools.

They've also notice differences in how American students socialize.

"Americans are much more social than Finnish people," Aino said. "You speak a lot and you speak all the time. You are also very polite."

"I think the American people are nicer than Germans," Fabian said. "They are more open."

And the students are not only learning about American culture, but enjoying it as well.

"... Especially school," Fabian said. ...

Noah Phillips, of Union School in Belleville, Cameron Ellington, of Alton Middle School, Max Erb, of Parkview Middle School in Columbia and Sam Kabureck, of Amelia Carriel Junior High in O'Fallon, received "Do the Right Thing" awards in October. ...

Christopher Parks, a senior at Granite City High School, and Julie Sauls, a junior at Highland High School, are among the 16 high school students to be selected to serve on the Illinois State Board of Education Student Advisory Council that meets throughout the year to address education issues. ...

The YMCA's downtown Belleville location is seeking teenagers ages 12 to 18 for its Teen Leaders Club, which allows members to build their leadership skills, gain teamwork experience and volunteer in their communities. For more information, contact Carol Kreitner at 233-1243 or ckreitner@ymcaswil.org. ...

O'Fallon Township High School, Alton High School, East-Alton Wood River High School, Granite City High School, Highland High School, Gibault Catholic High School and Althoff Catholic High School were among the more than 100 high schools statewide selected to participate in the Illinois Department of Transportation's 2009-2010 Operation Teen Safe Driving program, a statewide safety initiative that uses teens to educate their peers about driving responsibly. ...

Southwestern Illinois College will begin offering a free, monthly citizenship class from 6-8:50 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning Nov. 5 at O'Fallon Township High School, 600 S. Smiley Ave. For more information, call 222-5363. ...

Local high school students could win up to $30,000 in scholarships and a trip to Washington by competing in the Veterans of Foreign Wars and its Ladies Auxiliary's Voice of Democracy Scholarship Competition, which includes writing an recording a three- to five-minute audio essay on the theme "Does America still have heroes?"

The entry deadline is Nov. 1. For more information, call Al Depping at 628-0904, your local VFW post or visit www.vfw.org.

Sixth- through eighth-graders can win up to $10,000 in U.S. Savings Bonds and a trip to Washington by competing in the Patriot's Pen essay contest, which requires students to write a 300- to 400-word essay answering the question "When is the right time to honor our military heroes?"

The entry deadline is Nov. 1. For more information, Glenn Edwards at 233-7185, your local VFW post or visit www.vfw.org.