World Languages & Exchanges

Our sister city, Goslar, is an historic village in the Harz Mountains of Central Germany. As participants in the Summer exchange program, the students spend over three and half weeks in Germany. While in Goslar the students stay with German host families who have students at the Ratsgymnasium (our partner school). There they will attend classes and take field trips to local sights such as the Wolfsburg Volkswagen Autostadt, the 400-meter deep Bergbau Museum, and the imperial residence Kaiserpfalz.  

During their stay in Germany, students will take two extended trips by train, the first to Berlin and the second to Munich. During these trips they will stay in youth hostels and visit points of cultural interest, including world-class art museums, the remains of the Berlin Wall, and the famous Castle Neuschwanstein. Participating students earn one semester credit in German independent study.   

The German program also offers the opportunity to study abroad for one academic semester or year at our sister school the Ratsgymnasium in Goslar. Students on a semester exchange live their lives like regular students at the Ratsgymnasium. They live with a host family and attend classes. They attend regular courses (all taught completely in German) at the RG that meet their interests and academic needs. Often students study German, English, math, art, sports and a science. Most semester students choose to attend the RG Goslar during the second semester of their junior year or first semester of their senior year, and for students pursuing an IB Diploma, the second semester of their sophomore year.   

Students can receive one semester / year credit in German independent study. Credit is awarded for classes taken at the RG as well, but need to be discussed on a one to one basis, depending on the student’s schedule.

 

Alternating every three years during Spring Break, the Latin Club journeys to the homelands of our Classical languages. In 2020 we return to Greece for a tour of major classical sights—The Acropolis and Agora in Athens, Mycenae, Epidaurus, Olympia, Delphi, an island tour and more.

In 2023 we'll head to Italy for sightseeing in Rome, Herculaneum, Pompeii and the island of Capri. Students of Latin and/or Greek along with their parents, are invited to join us on these exciting trips.

 

Contact person(s): Nora Murphy ([email protected]) or Mary Coffey ([email protected])

 

We are very excited to continue the 23-year cultural exchange with our sister school in Worthing, England for June 2019.

The first three days of our tour will be spent in London to explore locations such as The Tower of London, the London Eye, Churchill’s War Rooms, the Globe Theater (including attending a performance of a Shakespeare play), the Tate Modern, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and a journey through London at night.

Then we spend nine days in homestays with Worthing host families in the West Sussex County of southeastern England. An hour and a half from London, Worthing and its sister city of Brighton are considered the Riviera of England. From our first walking tour of Worthing, we will explore Arundel Castle (circa 1067) and the “pomp and circumstance” of Brighton Pavilion. Touring other parts of Southeastern England, we travel to Portsmouth to see the British Naval Museum, including Henry VIII’s prize ship The Mary Rose. Our travels also take us to locations such as Windsor Castle (the favorite summer home of the current royal family), Canterbury, the Roman ruins of the community of Chichester, Stonehenge and even Harry Potter Studios!

We will be tentatively departing on June 21th and returning on July 2nd. The cost of this trip is $2,600. Airfare, London accomodations, public transportation, tour fees and theatre tickets are included. High School international travel credit will also be made available to students who keep a photo and written journal of the trip. This can be a great addition to your high school transcript! 

 

Contact person(s): Dr. Morris ([email protected])

 

Immerse yourself in daily French culture by living in a French family and attending our sister High School in Rouen while also getting an à la carte visit of Paris . We travel every two years during Spring Break and the other year students have the opportunity to host French students in the Fall.

 

Contact person(s): Eileen Willis ([email protected]) or Suzanne Genillier ([email protected])

 

Program Enrollment Booklet 

 

Shaker students form lifelong relationships with their Chilean counterparts through a biennial exchange with The Thomas Jefferson School (TJS), our sister school in Concepción, Chile.   Every other September, students from TJS visit Shaker, living with host families, going to classes and practicing English.  Shaker students then travel to Chile in June for a three week exchange. They experience the culture first hand since they live with a family and become a part of the school community attending classes, speaking Spanish and visiting local sites such as the Lota mine, the Pacific coastline and the nearby Andes mountains where they can take advantage of winter activities such as trekking, zip-lining, thermal baths and much more.  

After a two-week stay with families, students will tour this beautiful South American country learning about their history, geography, art and economy. Starting in the capital city, Santiago, students see the “Changing of the Guard” and tour the Chilean “White House”, called La Moneda.  They will  visit the hometown of famous poet, Pablo Neruda, and the adjacent beach-town of Viñas del Mar. Participating students may earn one semester credit in Spanish independent study. 

Independent, short term exchanges are also available for students to study during summer break at our sister school and live with a host family for a language immersion experience. 

Contact person(s): Kimberly Ponce de León, [email protected]

 

Celebration of Winter and Carnival every two years. It’s a four day trip in February where  students can experience culture, food, but also traditions and participate in fun activities (sleigh ride, snowshoeing, live fussball, visit to ice palace, ice hotel, and sugar shack. See brochure for more detail about itinerary and entertainment.

 

Contact person(s): Eileen Willis ([email protected]) or Suzanne Genillier ([email protected])

 

Shaker Heights High School Chinese students have broadened their education horizon, tasted the wonderful exotic culture and enriched their life experiences with successful immersion tours to China.

The trip is scheduled during the student’s summer vacation June 2019. Since both Shaker and Orange high schools have partnership with Hebei International School, China. This year China trip will have students from both schools. Participants will visit Beijing, Shijiazhuang, Xi’an and Shanghai. They will tour famous historic sites, such as The Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Olympic Stadium, Terracotta Warriors, Bund and Chenghuang Temple. Apart from visiting dreamlike sceneries, students will attend and experience numerous traditional cultural lessons with other local/International students at our sister school, such as Taiji, Chinese painting and paper-cutting lessons; they will also enjoy the delicious food and unique folk customs of China. Most of all, they will receive homestay and have a great time with their host families when they visit our sister school in the city of Shijiazhuang. They will also celebrate traditional Dragon Boat Festival with their host as well.

This trip is an option for all Shaker students. All participants must meet standards of attendance and citizenship in class and school in order to participate. Information about obtaining the required Visa to China will be discussed once the initial deposits are made. The fee includes international round-trip tickets, Visa application fee, international insurance, bullet train, domestic flight, 4-star+ hotel in China, food, transportation in the city, admission and tour guide.

We hope your students will be able to join us on this wonderful educational adventure.

Contact person(s): Luling Li, [email protected] 

 

The Costa Rica Spring break trip is for students in Spanish Two or higher. It is a language and ecological trip which gives the students the opportunity to use their Spanish in real-life situations. In our inaugural trip in April of 2018, we visited a rural school, learned to cook a native dish, visited the rain forest, zip-lined through the canopy, hiked near a volcano, swam in a hot water spring and participated in a conservation project where we planted more than fifty trees. This trip is offered every two years. Planning is already underway for Spring Break 2020.  

 

Contact person(s): Amy Fogerty ([email protected])