SVES students say goodbye to hanggul haksing

SVES students shouted their Kam Sa Ham Ni Da (Thank you) and Sarang Hae Hanggul Haksing (We love you, Korean students) to the departing Korean students who spent the last three weeks attending classes at the San Vicente Elementary School. The goodbye ceremonies occurred during the School Assembly held last Friday afternoon.

In an exchange program facilitated by the Northern Marianas College, 32 students from Seoul, Korea, came to Saipan to learn English. They were billeted at the Riviera Resort next to the college and placed in grades 3 through 5 at SVES. Host teachers were Ms. S. Duenas, Ms. S. Gates, Ms. T. Patris, Ms. C. Sablan, Ms. L. Mandiola, Ms. L. Arriola, Ms. C. Agulto, Ms. R. Camacho, Ms. Eva Wilkins, Ms. C. Camacho, Ms. C. Soria, Ms. Y. Reyes, Ms. B. Miller, and Mr. V. Welch. Korean teachers who accompanied the children were Mr. Yang and Ms. Joy.

The Korean students were given the same assignments as the other students in the classes, and were treated like regular students. They went through the normal core curriculum of Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, and Mathematics. They also participated in Chamorro or Carolinian bilingual education classes. After school, they took swimming instructions at the Riviera Resort. One Saturday, the group, with a few of their classmates, spent a day swimming at Managaha island.

In their final class day last Friday, the 5th grade students hiked to Lau Lau Bay. The Korean students showed their classmates the Hanggul symbols for the phonetic sounds of the English language, from A to Z. Different teams made and decorated the symbols using materials at the beach.

Val Welch who served as the SVES coordinator, and the class’ swimming instructor, tells of James, or Choi Jae Seok’s colorful time. “An energetic student with not a little hint of hyperactivity, James’ behavior got a lot of teachers’ attention in his 3rd grade class, as well as during swimming instructions. He loved swimming so much that he could not contain himself before jumping into pool even without the teacher’s go-signal. And even after being told to wait before getting into the pool, he would invariably jump in anyway. He was also reluctant to get out of the pool when the class was over,” Welch revealed.

James was finally told that he could not swim during the next session as a disciplinary measure. “Nevertheless, he showed up properly attired with cap and goggles at the next class,” Welch said. “Instead of asking to swim, however, he started running around the pool. He continued running for a full hour until after the swimming instruction was over. Visibly exhausted at the end of the hour, he still had to be told several times to stop running before quitting.”

During the next swimming class, James wanted to get into the water but made sure first that he had permission before doing so. He approached Mr. Welch and asked him to turn his back on him. James then proceeded to administer a quick back massage. So effectively relaxing were his kneading that Mr. Welch felt like he just got served by a professional masseuse.

From then on, James made it through the swimming sessions without behavioral infractions. He even got out of the pool when told to do so. Choi Jae Seok, with the rest in his batch, all received an SVES certificate of Attendance from SVES vice principal James Rayphand. In turn, the students practiced their English by stating who they were, where they come from, and naming a favorite classmate or a significant class activity they were in.

Park Tae Won, general manager of the Riviera Resort, who was on hand during the ceremonies, observed that the children had a wonderful time, which might very well result in their return with their families in the future. (Jaime Vergara)