Elementary school gets visitor from India

STANFORDVILLE — Cold Spring Elementary School got a healthy dose of foreign culture last month when the school hosted a visitor from halfway around the world.

Nishkala Johnson and her daughter, Shinie, took a trip up to the Harlem Valley over the Memorial Day weekend from New York City, where they were visiting St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s, an  Episcopal day school.

Johnson is the equivalent of a principal for an elementary school in Chengalpattu, India, a rural companion school to St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s.

“It was her first time in the States,� said Johanna Shafer, a member of the Episcopal Church of the Regeneration in Pine Plains and chairperson of the Indian Network Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. Shafer hosted Johnson and her daughter while they visited outside of the city.

“She was here as part of a teacher exchange program, and I wanted her to come out and see what our rural schools are like,� she said.

Shafer explained that Johnson speaks very good English, but sometimes has difficulty understanding a phone conversation, and a scheduled telephone interview was canceled shortly before Johnson left for the city again.

“She certainly loved being in this area,� Shafer said. “She said that Cold Spring Elementary was extremely different from her experiences in the city. It was a much more relaxed atmosphere, and she said children are not as exposed to differences here as they are in New York City.�

James Glynn, Cold Spring’s principal, said that Johnson visited on May 28 during the school’s Expo Day, and there were parents and plenty of activities to keep her busy during her visit.

“There were definitely some similarities in terms of what I experience and what she does in India,� he said. “The kids in the classroom were very accommodating, and I think they certainly enjoyed the cultural exchange, which falls in line with our character education goal of diversity and acceptance.�

Johnson got to relax after her Friday at school, catching the Stanfordville and Pine Plains Memorial Day parades before heading back to New York City and eventually India.

“Mr. Glynn had a wonderful poster up that really fit the theme of character building and that Nishkala pointed out,� Shafer added. “There was a box of crayons and the poster read, ‘We are all different colors but we fit in the same box.’�

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