DePaul Catholic HS Welcomes Students from China

Nine students from mainland China will call the United States home for the 2011/2012 school year, as part of a program that allows them to take classs at DePaul Catholic High School.

The students have been studying for over a year to attend school at the parochial private school, where they are expected to graduate, according to Tom Smithling, a resident of Wayne and former principal of DePaul.

On weekends the school has been taking them around New Jersey, New York City and Pennsylvania to visit colleges.

“We went last week to visit Princeton and next week will be visiting New York University and Columbia University,” said Smithling. 

Smithling said the idea came to fruition after an acquaintance from Korea had worked with students in China. “This gentleman had invited me to Shanghai two years ago to teach for ten days at a school there,” said Smithling. They then hoped to take part in a foreign exchange student-type activity.

He said the idea has proven successful; this is the second year doing it. “We require the students speak English. Sometimes at lunch, when they are amongst themselves, they can slip back into Chinese, and we remind them that it is required for them to speak English,” said Smithling. 

Smithling said the students are staying with host families in the United States and they will take them out to experience American culture through picnics, going to the movies and other fun activities. “We find the nine of them to be typical of teenagers,” said Smithling. “They are hard-working and will take breaks. They hang out with their friends and enjoy spending time with people their own age.”  

One way the students have been experiencing the American culture is by enjoying the food. Because the DePaul cafeteria is not up and running yet, as it is summer, the school has been ordering out to local fast food restaurants for lunch. Recently, the kids ordered “American” Chinese food and even learned to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  

When asked if DePaul’s religious foundation was at all a concern for students from China, a secular country, Smithling said it was not. The Chinese government was aware of which school they would be attending, but DePaul is used to have persons from a non-Catholic background in attendance. “We have many students who are not Catholic here, so it was never an issue,” said Smithling. “We do teach an ethics course that all students are required to take and they will be taking it as well.”  

However, cultural differences aside, Smithling said this type of activity benefits DePaul Catholic High School as much as it benefits the students from China.  “This has been a great opportunity for everyone involved,” said Smithling. He said the students worked hard to get to the United States and the families associated with DePaul were glad to have them.