USA Tour 2016 - New Rochelle

5th December 2016

The Ursuline School - New Rochelle

Natalia

I woke to a drizzly, cold winter morning with the smell of a freshly cooked breakfast wafting through the house. It was lovely to feel the hospitality of my new home for the week.

We have finally made it to New Rochelle, New York. With many of the girls only 10-15 minutes away from the school, we all ran for the heat of the school. We travelled around the school for the day learning the lay of the land with many of the girls attending English, Italian, Physics, American History classes, but my personal favourite was lunch in the cafeteria. The menu, ‘Chef’s Special’ (aka nuggets, grilled cheese sandwiches, vegetable soup) and a salad bar was warmly welcomed, as they do not have morning tea here, so it can be a long time between meals. All I could hear was girls talking and laughing, just like home, and it was hard to spot us through the cute blue Ursuline jumpers with koala prints (their Ursie bear is a koala!). The most wonderful thing was seeing the halls and walls adorned with the statues and familiar quotes from Angela, making the me feel very much at home.

Tonight, many of the girls will travel into the city to experience a Broadway show, ice skating, a basketball game or the many exciting cultural attractions. Tomorrow we all travel into Manhattan for a day in ‘The Big Apple’, with a chance of snow on Friday!

Ursie also met the TUS Koala!

Comments from New Rochelle Tour

It is wonderful when Ursuline connections extend beyond that of our students.  On this tour we had two families who joined their daughter in New York at the end of the exchange for a family holiday. The Murphy family and the Lynch family met up in New York and celebrated the Christmas season.

Comments from New Rochelle Tour

"I would like to thank you so much for your organisation of the New Rochelle tour last year. It was such a wonderful experience and I am so glad Erin was a part of it. She had a fantastic trip, her host family was beautiful and she is still telling us stories of the things she did while over there.  It was very reassuring for us, as parents, to know that the trip was well organised with each part of the journey planned out before they left. We now hope that our other daughter, Laura, has the same opportunity to participate in the next tour.

Thank you again,
Kim and Danny McCosker "

Comments from New Rochelle Tour

Our New York Exchange Tour was very successful with the girls having a wonderful stay in New Rochelle.  Some of the comments from the girls...

"I was actually lucky enough to go and see 'Wicked' on Broadway and we were able to get a backstage tour! I am a drama student at school and this was really exciting for me to see the performance space of one of the most famous broadway shows and meet performers who are working professionally in New York City (a dream that many of my friends have). This was one of the highlights of the tour for me and an experience I'll never forget! - Louise Ryan"

After two days of touring Washington DC the girls are exhausted but their knowledge of The United States and its history and governance has improved dramatically. The group had an early start, leaving New Rochelle at 7am on Wednesday. On their arrival in the capital they met with Dan, their tour guide, and headed straight to The White House for a tour of the visitor centre and a photo opportunity.

 

From there they spent the afternoon visiting various memorials, including the Jefferson Memorial, Washington Monument, Vietnam Memorial, Korean Memorial, World War II Memorial, The Lincoln Memorial and The Martin Luther King Memorial. It was a big day and the girls were pleased to get to the hotel, have dinner at the Italian restaurant nearby and enjoy a good night's sleep.

Most of the girls were up in time to enjoy a beautiful buffet breakfast and then they were off on the bus with Dan to visit the amazing Newseum. After a couple of hours there they drove around the corner to the Smithsonian museums where some went to the American History Museum and others visited the National Air and Space Museum. Their final tour was of The Capitol before they bade farewell to Dan and boarded the bus for the 5 hour trip home.

The group had a fabulous morning at The Academy of Mt St Ursula in the Bronx. The staff and students were extremely welcoming and the girls enjoyed visiting some classes and had fun at morning tea. Emily led the way on the piano and all of the girls joined in for a sing-along. Their connection seemed almost instant and by the time the group left the girls were promising to keep in touch.

 

 

Although the weather was decidedly ordinary on Tuesday - heavy rain and strong winds - the group made their way down to the 9/11 Memorial. It was an incredible experience. The entire sight has been beautifully transformed. It is indeed a fitting tribute to those whose lives were forever changed by the events of 9/11 and our girls were moved by the experience of being there. All in all a day that tested our girls' travel endurance but a day that offered great rewards.

 

The girls arrived at school on Monday morning with many and varied stories recounting their weekend adventures with their host families.  Most girls spent time in New York City visiting key sights and attractions.  Some were lucky enough to see a show on Broadway, or shopping on Fifth Avenue, Soho or the West Village.

The group were fortunate to be able to experience mass at The Ursuline School.  Sr Pat invited the girls to participate via the Prayers of the Faithful and Offertory Procession.  At the conclusion of the mass, Louise introduced the two videos showcasing St Ursula's Toowoomba style.  They were very well received.  Staff and students were interested to learn that we celebrate Ursie's birthday and excited to see that we have an outdoor pool.  Many commented that we appear to have lots of fun.  Our students were interested to learn that chair stacking after a whole school gathering is a universal practice.  Jessamine expressed a vote of thanks and presented gifts from the College to Eileen Davidson (President) and Carol Kellebrew (Principal).

In the afternoon the group braved the below freezing temperatures and headed to the city to experience the iconic New York Christmas Spectacular at Radio City.  It was an experience like no other.  The girls loved it!

Tuesday saw great excitement as the girls experienced their first flakes of snow. A group excitedly ran outside (minus jackets) to experience some snow falling. This caused quite the scene as many of the students and teachers ran to windows to see what the commotion was all about. Teachers had to explain to the other students that the 'Australians' had never seen snow before. Despite many pictures being taken, there is not much evidence of the flakes, and we were informed that the 'snow' was really a flurry! We are sure that many of the girls have their fingers crossed for more snow!

The girls have eagerly participated in many lessons over the last couple of days. Many of the teachers have commented on how much they are enjoying having the girls in their class, and are appreciative of their contributions to class discussion. Girls have enthusiastically participated in English and Religion lessons offering their insights into the subject matter. In English girls have been discussing the text, The Cruicable,and in Religion they have enjoyed comparing our practices with regard to Sacraments.

 

On Thursday we visited the College  of New Rochelle. It was interesting to see the Ursuline philosophy so deeply entrenched in a university. Girls enjoyed a presentation about the College and a tour of the facilities. 

 

Every morning the teachers are met with great enthusiasm from all the girls. They are truly making the most of this experience.

 

The tour has arrived in New York! 

Much to the excitement of the girls, they were transported to New Rochelle in two yellow school buses (or cheese buses as they are affectionately known). Although it was the end of the Thanksgiving break, one of the busiest days of the year, they were soon pulling into The Ursuline School amid the cheers and screams of 20 host sisters and their families. The girls were whisked away to their respective temporary homes for a long-awaited sleep.

 

 

 
 
 
 
As the girls arrived at school eagerly anticipating their day, they were greeted at the entrance to the school by Christmas carols being played and the Principal, in her Santa hat, welcoming one and all.

 

 

 

 

New Rochelle, New York Exchange

Our group of excited girls departed the College this morning.  They are on their way to New York!