On January 31, the Upper School held a welcome assembly to kick off the visit of students and teachers from Beijing No. 4 School. Mrs. Anne Chao also hosted a special dinner reception at her home for our Chinese guests. Activities were selected specifically to give our guests a greater insight into our educational system as well as American culture. A few of the field trips include: Rice University, NASA - Houston Space Center, the Medical Center, a Rockets basketball game at the Toyota Center, Galleria Mall, Houston Museum of Natural Sciences, and a Chinese New Year celebration in Chinatown.

Our correspondence with Beijing No. 4 High School began three years ago. There were plans to start an exchange program then but the swine flu scare delayed the trip. Last summer, two SJS Trustee Members – Mrs. Anne Chao and Ms. Sun Ping, interim Head Master, Dr. Jim Hendrix, and Upper School Chinese teacher Ms. Gea visited the Beijing campus and finalized the terms of the exchange program.

Beijing No. 4 High School is among one of China’s oldest and most prestigious schools. Its facilities, faculty, and educational opportunities have attracted many of China’s top students. The majority of its graduates enroll in China’s top universities.

Ten of our SJS students will travel to China on June 5 and stay through June 18, 2011.