French Exchange Students Visit Community High

Community High School students continue to broaden their international circle of friends. They have invited 25 students from the Lycee Mounier in Grenoble, France to visit Community High School from April 14 to April 27. Teachers Madame Wendy Mattera and Madame Emmanuelle Samson will accompany their students.

Visiting students are encouraged to attend classes with their hosts when they are not on field trips. During their visit here, they will visit Navy Pier and the IMAX Theater, take a walking tour of Chicago and tour Fermilab. Both students and teachers will be invited to speak to a number of classes. The high school will hold a reception at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 15 to welcome the visitors.

Marjorie Appel is the Foreign Language Department Chair at the high school and oversees the exchange program, which began in 1986. Students from Community High School alternate years of visiting with the students from Grenoble. "The exchange program helps the students to improve their foreign language skills and gives them first-hand knowledge of their host country," she said. "Many of the students build life-long friendships during these visits. This shows that people can get along with people. They want to welcome each other and to make friends. We don't allow politics to interfere with the need to build relationships with people from other countries," she added.

Students who will host visitors include Denise Almaraz, Frank Anderson, Jorge Carlos, Mercedes Castro, Vicente Fernandez, Mariana Flores, Josh Foster, Nicole, Melone, Beth Kipp, Katy Kostal, Angelica Moreno, Amanda Neal , Stephanie Neumann, and Arizbe Ortiz. Also, Catherine Platt, Kathryn Podschwit, Susan Rizk, Noemi Rodriguez, Carmen Saucedo, Nikki Schar, Erin Skarin, Kirsten Stockhoff, Hope Vock, Kristina Wanous and Sean Warren.