Eight Chinese elementary students are spending two weeks at Shady Side Academy Junior School attending classes, learning about American culture and exploring Pittsburgh. The visitors include four fifth grade students, three fourth grade students, one third grade student and an adult chaperone from RISE Immersion Subject English, an after-school program in Beijing, China. Eight Junior School families volunteered to host the visitors in their homes for the two-week visit.

The Chinese visitors flew into Pittsburgh on Sunday, Jan. 28, and will return to China on Saturday, Feb. 10. During their two-week stay, the students will attend regular classes at the Junior School Monday through Friday, and enjoy exploring Pittsburgh with their host families on evenings and weekends. Planned group outings include: visits to Phipps Conservatory, the National Aviary, the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, the Carnegie Science Center, The Frick Art & Historical Center and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History; a tour of a CMU Robotics Lab; a ride on one of Pittsburgh's inclines; ice skating in Schenley Park, a Super Bowl party, and dinner and a movie with the Chinese boarding students who attend SSA Senior School.

The Junior School families hosting the Chinese students in their homes are: the Adams family (Tatum, grade 4, and Will, grade 1) the Amos-Abanyie family (Emmanuel, grade 3, and Levi, grade 1), the Bugarija family (Mia, grade 4, and Eva, grade 1), the Levy family (Ben, grade 5, and Daniel, grade 3), the McLaughlin/Bendel family (Rhyley, grade 4), the Passarello-Carnevali family (Gus, grade 5, and Simon, grade 4), and the Yanov family (Ivan, grade K), along with fifth grade teacher Lisa Anselmo, who is hosting one student and the adult chaperone.

"Having the students from China visit us opens our world beyond Pittsburgh," said Junior School Head Ellen McConnell Sanderson. "Our students were incredibly excited to meet the visiting students and have them in their classrooms. One of the most interesting things so far is that when the Chinese visitors first arrived, they were surprised that we already have Chinese students at Shady Side Academy. They were amazed by the diversity of the whole school. To me, that's what truly makes our school such a wonderful place to be!"

This is the first time SSA Junior School has hosted Chinese students. The Senior School has several Chinese students in the boarding program and hosts visiting Chinese students every other year through a reciprocal exchange. The Middle School hosted eight Chinese students for a similar two-week visit in January 2014.

Thank you to the following organizations for generously donating free passes for our Chinese visitors: the Carnegie Museums, the Frick, the National Aviary, Phipps Conservatory, and the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium.