Now Boarding: Global Classroom Airlines Flight 2024-2025 with stops in Russia, Zimbabwe, Japan, the Netherlands, and the Dominican Republic!
As we mentioned in our last blog post, during the 2024-2025 school year, Global Classroom transported NYC youth to 49 countries across 6 continents (Antarctica is a toughie), all without ever having to leave their classrooms. We ran 338 workshops from September – June, with our 101 trained global guides making a lasting impact on our 467 unique youth participants. Our goal in this blog series is to take you on a similar journey!
Fasten your seatbelts, we’re now beginning our initial descent into our first destination: Russia!
During Kirill’s Global Lives workshops at the Facing History School and PS 303, students got a mini Russian language lesson, which means you’re about to get one, too!
Hi is “Привет” [pree-VYET]
How are you? is “Как дела?” [kak dee-LA]
I’m good is “Хорошо” [ha-ra-SHO]
Did you know that Russia has 11 different time zones? Or that there are over 100 different ethnic groups in Russia?
Bonus language lesson: “Matryoshka” means “little mother” in Russian. Russian nesting dolls or “Matryoshka,” which Kirill made for his activity with the students, represent family, tradition, and storytelling!
Final call – now departing for the second stop in our zoom-in tour: Zimbabwe!
Zimbabwe, located in sub-saharan Africa, is home to 16 official languages, including American sign language, and to the largest waterfall in the world – Victoria Falls! You can also find the big 5 animals in Zimbabwe (lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros, and buffalo), so get your camera ready!!
Watch the above video for an inside look at a popular Zimbabwean childhood game that was a huge hit with our program participants.
We have reached our cruising altitude of 35,000 feet in the Japan leg of our journey!
During Hikari’s Global Lives workshop aboutJapan, students were beyond excited to see some of their favorite anime characters and video games, including Mario, Pokemon, and Animal Crossing! Did you know that origami originated in Japan? Our students had a blast making their own original origami cats!
For her Global Citizenship workshops, Hikari’s issue of choice was food waste, focusing on SDG 2: Zero Hunger, and discussing potential solutions with students.
We are first in line for departure to Amsterdam, the Netherlands!
Don’t forget to wear orange on April 27th, because in the Netherlands it’s King’s Day!
Did you know that the Netherlands has a king and a queen? Or that there are more bikes than people in Amsterdam (crazy!)?! These are just a few of the facts that Sacha shared with participants while playing true/false and trivia games.
For her Global Citizenship themed workshops, Sacha focused on a topic close to home: the impacts of climate change. Due to rising sea levels, Sacha explained that her home city of Amsterdam is at risk of flooding Students made climate protest signs Greta Thunberg style as their final solution-oriented activity!
Welcome to our final destination, the Dominican Republic! The weather outside is currently 88 degrees and sunny!
Batter up: the Dominican Republic! Did you know that the DR is the home of 100 MLB players across 30 different teams, including the Mets’ very own Juan Soto?! The DR is the lead foreign country in terms of MLB representation!
For her issue and solution-based discussion, Isselle looked at SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth. She had students engage with tough topics through activities like checking the tags on their clothing to see where items were produced, and discussions about what we can do to create decent work at the local and global levels, including addressing informal economies and upping foreign investment!
Make sure to pack up all of your souvenirs and add your favorite memories to your scrapbook – we can’t wait to welcome you for our next Global Classroom journey!
