Starting a Sister School Partnership
Developing a friendship with a partner school in another country will help your students to understand their place as a global citizen and to develop a deepened appreciation of another culture in an authentic, relevant and very personal way.
Mutually Beneficial
Sister school partnerships provide both students and teachers with opportunities to:
- gain an increased knowledge, understanding and appreciation of another culture and/or lifestyle;
- gain an understanding of and appreciation for diversity;
- gain an insight into a different education system;
- improve proficiency in foreign languages; and
- add a global perspective to the classroom curriculum.
Considerations
- It is a good idea to nominate a coordinator at your school to manage and organise communications and projects.
- Discuss aims and expectations of the partnership with your sister school. Set shared goals and timelines and discuss how the success of the partnership will be measured.
- Determine frequency and method of communication and how much classroom time will be devoted to your sister school relationship.
- Note important dates with your partner school, such as school holidays, when communication will be interrupted.
- Determine the curriculum focus of your partnership.
- Take advantage of technology and integrate ICT into your partnership. For example, use email, blogs, SMS, and video conferencing to communicate and collaborate. However, don’t forget the value of exchanging letters, parcels and work through “old-fashioned” mail.
- Consider opportunities for parents and the broader school community to be involved in the partnership.
Links
- http://www.etwinning.net – A European Union initiative that allows European schools to search for projects and partners by country, subject and age group. This site provides project ideas on a range of topics with clear pedagogical objectives.
- http://www.globalgateway.org/ - A British Council website providing sound advice on establishing an effective and mutually beneficial sister school partnership.
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldclass/ - Tips and resources (including links) for sister school relationships.
- http://www.culturalexchange.nsw.edu.au/ -The NSW Cultural Exchange Programs in Schools promotes intra-state partnerships and exchanges between schools with differing student populations.
- http://www.britishcouncil.org/learning-ie-school-partnerships - A gateway to education partnerships between schools and colleges across the world with opportunities to find or create online collaborative projects.
