Summer at Kimball Union Academy Has a Global Focus

From Meriden to China, kids are coming to Kimball Union Academy to learn a second, third, or even a fourth language. The boarding school campus in Meriden, New Hampshire is serving as a Tower of Babel for five weeks in the summer as students learn Chinese, French, Spanish, and English in the Academy’s Summer Enrichment Experience program (S.E.E. KUA). Through its ESL(English as a Second Language) Summer Institute and the Language Institute, Kimball Union Academy is hosting over sixty students hailing from Ethiopia, Korea, Spain, China, Belarus, Japan, Poland, Turkey, Canada, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and the United States. When not in the interactive classroom setting, students are speaking their target languages at their respective lunch tables. In the middle of lunch, representatives from each language group regularly break into song and dance in their quest for Zeus’ daily presentation of the Olympic Language medals.

Later this month, new students from around the U.S. will join the ESL students for English based exploration in our Technology, Arts and Environmental Leadership In Action programs. These inquiry based programs allow students to learn new skills and put them into action. Environmental students will explore the local effects of global climate change and propose solutions. Our Arts and Technology students will learn new skills and hone existing talents as they work towards a closing performance and exhibit for family and friends.

Afternoon events such as soccer, crafts, mini golf, swimming, tennis, canoeing, and games of UNO are always a global affair, and are designed to facilitate cultural exchange and understanding in this truly global community. After dinner, students enjoy such activities as karaoke, films, multicultural music night, and community outings throughout the Upper Valley. In the residential houses, native speakers from Spain, China, Quebec, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico have the opportunity to collaborate with American students on projects and assignments. Kimball Union Academy is extending its diversity initiative into the summer months by hosting students and teachers from all over the world in this language and cultural enrichment experience.

Kimball Union Academy is a boarding and day school for students in grades 9-12 and PG located in Meriden, NH. Summer programs are designed to compliment the school’s mission and provide opportunities for students from around the world to experience Kimball Union Academy.

For more information contact Audra Bucklin, abucklin@kua.org or 603-469-2070 or visit us online at www.kua.org .