Several Fourth Form students of the Marian Academy have returned to Guyana following a tour of Asia during which a “sister school alliance” was established with the Jinshan Middle School of Fuzhou.
According to a press statement from the school the delegation which included 20 students, one teacher and several parents began their tour two weeks ago in New York City and later visited Fuzhou and Hong Kong.
“While in Fuzhou City they maintained a hectic schedule beginning with a visit to the Cross Straits Fair for Economy And Trade where the students observed firsthand the cross strait economic cooperation between the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan at the five-day event held from 18th to 22nd May 2019 at the Fuzhou International Conference and Exhibition Center in Fuzhou, China,” the statement explained, adding that the Marian delegation then spent the next couple of days visiting Jinshan Middle School; participating in academic studies such as Geography, in sporting activities such as badminton, table-tennis and soccer and in co-curricular activities such as pottery, cheerleading, robotics and learning to write Chinese characters.
Several other days were spent visiting important landmarks in Fuzhou such as the Three Lanes and Seven Alleys, Yongquan Buddhist Temple, Fujian Museum, Fuzhou Planning Hall, and Mawei Gezhi Garden.
“The tours of these cities …brought to life a number of the areas of study usually pursued in the classroom” the statement claims.
The students who are making career choices were eager to take a firsthand look at new vocations and professions that are gaining recognition and popularity around the world and which gives them a wider array of choices for their skill set.
In November of 2015, Marian Academy’s Principal Sister Marie Harper signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Principal of the Jinshan Middle School. This MoU was extended to a full-fledged twinning agreement making Marian Academy first school from Guyana to establish a sister school alliance with a school in the People’s Republic of China. They are also the first to send such a substantial contingent to the PRC.
It is expected that the students of the Jinshan Middle School will soon be paying a reciprocal visit to Georgetown to further develop initiatives started during the just concluded visit.
