Pennington’s Upper School community grew slightly in size this week, with the arrival of the first visiting exchange group of the academic year. Hailing from the Salesian school in Sherbrooke, Quebec, eighteen students from Grades 9 through 11 arrived on Thursday as part of a soccer and French language exchange. During their stay, nine of these students will be matched with members of Pennington’s boarding community and live in our dormitories, while the other half of the group will be placed with host families. 

This initiative is part of Pennington’s ever-expanding experiential learning opportunities. According to Director of Cross-Cultural Experiential Learning Lida Castro, “Pennington is strongly committed to providing quality, affordable programs for our students. Through partnerships with schools worldwide—particularly within the Round Square network—we create authentic exchanges tailored to our community.”

While on campus, the exchange students have been shadowing their Pennington peers for classes throughout the school day. Outside the classroom, the Canadians are training with Pennington’s JV soccer teams. Salesian tenth-grader Juliette L. has been excited to see the level of play among American high school athletes. Back home in Quebec, soccer is a sport growing quickly in popularity, and these students will have the chance to play a game alongside the Pennington Red Hawks on Saturday. 

Sports aside though, Juliette has been particularly impressed with the community she has discovered at Pennington: “I really love that this school community is one where everyone helps one another. That environment helps foster independence among students and creates a really strong foundation for the future.” After departing Pennington on Sunday morning, Juliette and the rest of the group will visit New York City before beginning the return trip home. 

When November rolls around, Pennington’s French IV and AP classes will get their chance to travel to Sherbrooke, Quebec, for a reciprocal academic immersion experience. “These collaborations make transformative global learning both accessible and meaningful,” says Castro.