Our Wildwood, Volume 51

International Community Involvement Returns to Nepal As part of Wildwood’s International Community Involvement (ICI) program, upper school students spent spring break in Bhaktapur, deep in the heart of Nepal, where they volunteered at local schools and collaborated with our longtime local partner organization The Unatti Foundation. Along with providing support in the classroom with English instruction, music, reading, visual arts, and physical education, students bonded with their Nepal counterparts (and each other) over a series of roundtable discussions on culture, and of course, play!

“” THE BEST PART OF THE ICI EXPERIENCE IS STUDENTS

While Wildwood students have been visiting Nepal as part of our International Community Involvement since 2011, this year’s trip marks the first time back in the country since 2019. “I have been going to Nepal as part of ICI on-and-off for 10 years now, so it’s been great to see the growth of all of the kids that we work with over there,” said Reo Sorrentino, assistant athletics director. While there, students also visited towns in the Kathmandu Valley, participated in a 5-day trekking expedition of the Annapurna Circuit, and had the opportunity to celebrate the Hindu holiday of Holi. Through interaction, exploration, and reflection, students returned to Wildwood with a better understanding of their world—and their role within it. “The best part of the ICI experience is students leaning into discomfort by traveling away from their families for spring break,

LEANING INTO DISCOMFORT BY TRAVELING AWAY FROM THEIR FAMILIES FOR SPRING BREAK, AND COMING BACK HOME WITH NEW PERSPECTIVES AND EXPERIENCES ON LIFE AND HOW IT WILL MOLD THEM FOR YEARS TO COME. —SARAH SCHEMERHORN

and coming back home with new perspectives and experiences on life and how it will mold them for years to come,” said P.E. teacher and coach Sarah Schemerhorn, who chaperoned the trip. “It’s great to see our students gain an understanding and practice of specific life skills such as independence, empathy, problem-solving, adaptability, and teamwork.”

OWW SUMMER 2024

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