BRATTLEBORO — Recently, 18 students from the Collège Madame de Staël, in Geneva, Switzerland, arrived for the U.S. portion of the Brattleboro Union High School Swiss Exchange.
The Swiss Exchange started in 1979, and since then several hundred BUHS and Swiss students have shared life in their respective communities, schools, and families.
Home stays offer a unique opportunity to gain new perspective, both on the wider world and on one's own community and county.
Just as importantly, many of those students who have participated in the Swiss Exchange, now adults with children of their own, have maintained the friendships they formed when they were teenagers.
The exchange could not exist without the contributions of our community, and we thank the following people who took the time to welcome our Swiss guests.
At Windham Superior Court, Anne Damone, court clerk, and Judge David Suntag hosted the group during a trial. Johnny DiGeorge, filmmaker and digital artist, and Peter Solley, of Vermont Gelato, hosted the students at the Cotton Mill, and Susan Calabria, Brattleboro Museum and Art Center's education curator, introduced them to the museum's offerings.
The art department at BUHS hosted the students in classes ranging from drawing to interior design to sewing. Alice Charkes welcomed them in French classes at Green Street School.
And finally, the staff of Rescue, Inc. gave them a tour and a quick lesson in Citizen CPR.
In April 2015, BUHS students of French will live with their Swiss partners, who are already planning the visit!