On Monday 15th October 2018, a very special guest arrived at Aston St Mary’s all the way from our link school at St Mary’s Singla. The children, staff and parents were all very excited to welcome Miss Sudhina, a teacher from the school in Singla, into our own school for one whole week. On Monday morning, Danes Class welcomed her with an informative assembly about our school. During her visit, she went to every class to observe the different teaching and learning methods we have in England. She loved our school and wished to take many ideas back to her own school in India, especially the format of running a School Council. Throughout the week, Miss Sudhina visited all classes and spoke to the children to answer all of their questions about her home and school life in Indian. The children gained so much knowledge and even learnt to speak some Nepali and learnt some Indian dance moves! On her final day, we said goodbye to Miss Sudhina during a special assembly. We were able to hand over our replies to the letters from Singla which Miss Sudhina took back home with her. Mr McPartland, our local MP, even joined us to mark the occasion and to meet Miss Sudhina.
This has been a wonderful and unique experience for the children and staff at both of our schools. As a result, our link with St Mary’s Singla is now stronger than ever. It is important for our children to understand how we can extend the hand of friendship right the way across the world in order to understand different cultures and societies. Through our special friendship with St Mary’s Singla, our children have gained a greater sense of global awareness and it has helped to bridge geographical boundaries. We are so very grateful to Miss Sudhina for making this long journey to see our school. We hope that one day we will be able to meet her once more.