Global Collaboration Connection

Phase 4 Update

Introduction

The Global Collaboration is a virtual exchange partnering Grade 8 students from La Salle School (Mexico), Tsai Hsing School (Taiwan), and Bainbridge-Guilford Jr-Sr High School (New York), with the core purpose of fostering cultural understanding, authentic communication, and global citizenship. The journey begins with meet & greet activities followed by a community exploration phase where students compare and contrast their local areas. Participants then transition into a dedicated curriculum project focused on the history and traditions of the Indigenous People Groups within their respective home locations. The collaboration concludes with a live event, allowing students to reflect on their shared discoveries, celebrate their diverse heritage, and discuss future global connections.

Calendar

March - April

Phase 1: Meet & Greet Students break the ice through introductory activities, establishing initial peer-to-peer connections and setting the stage for open dialogue.

Phase 2: Community Exploration A deep dive into local environments where students compare and contrast their respective geographical and social landscapes, identifying unique regional characteristics and shared urban or rural challenges.

Phase 3: Indigenous Heritage Curriculum Before the final event, students engage in a specialized curriculum project focused on the Indigenous People Groups of their home locations. This research-based phase encourages students to honor the history, traditions, and contemporary presence of the original inhabitants of Mexico, Taiwan, and New York.

Phase 4: Live Event & Reflection The collaboration culminates in a live virtual event and reflection session. Students view a video montage of their journey, document shared interests, and participate in a final group discussion focused on maintaining these international bonds in the future.

Phase 4 Update

We have officially reached the final phase of our Global Collaboration, and it has been an incredible journey! Our students successfully launched Phase 4 by sharing their Indigenous Cultures Kites through a dynamic digital Padlet. Students from Taiwan, New York, and Mexico were able to view each other's handcrafted kites and engage in meaningful dialogue by posting comments, sharing insights, and asking thoughtful questions about their partners' heritage research. It was a spectacular way to wrap up the academic portion of our collaboration and showcase their hard work.

To officially tie off this global connection, we are looking forward to hosting a final Live Synchronous Event on Zoom in the coming weeks. This virtual gathering will give our participating students and teachers the long-awaited opportunity to see one another face-to-face and interact in real time. We want to extend a huge thank you to our global community of educators and stakeholders for supporting this unforgettable, cross-cultural experience!

Mexico Indigenous Group Kites

New York Indigenous Group Kites

Taiwan Indigenous Group Kites

Phase 3 Update

We are making wonderful progress in Phase 3 of our Global Collaboration! A significant number of our students have completed their research into the Indigenous people groups of their respective countries and have translated those insights into stunning, handcrafted kites. These students are now ready and excited to share their creations and new learning with their partners in Taiwan, New York, and Mexico.

As we look toward the final stretch of our journey, we are beginning to plan Phase 4. This concluding phase will focus on our "Celebration of Learning," where students will showcase their work on a digital Padlet and connect for a live event. We look forward to seeing the remaining projects cross the finish line as we prepare to celebrate the incredible cross-cultural connections made throughout this project.

Phase 2 Update

We have successfully concluded Session 2 of our six-week Global Collaboration, with Grade 8 students moving beyond initial introductions into more purposeful comparative analysis. During this session, students engaged deeply with their international peers by reviewing the personal videos and introductory information shared in the previous week. A key focus of this phase was the creation of Venn Diagrams, where students identified at least two similarities and two differences between themselves and their partners to practice comparing and contrasting their diverse lives. To further cultivate authentic communication, students also posted follow-up questions in their shared documents to spark ongoing dialogue. This session has strengthened the students' ability to be respectful global learners as they continue to build meaningful connections across Mexico, Taiwan, and New York.

Phase 1 Update

We are thrilled to announce that Session 1 of our six-week Global Collaboration between La Salle School (Mexico), Tsai Hsing School (Taiwan), and Bainbridge-Guilford (New York) is officially complete! Every student across all three schools has participated in this initial phase, successfully making their first communication contact through a shared Google Document to launch our journey toward cultural understanding and global citizenship.

During this kick-off, students introduced themselves by sharing their names, ages, birthplaces, and current locations, while building personal connections through video links and descriptions of their hobbies. We have established a strong foundation for authentic exchange that will serve us as our collaboration continues to grow and evolve over the coming weeks.