This year students at NDES are traveling around the world as they navigate through the curriculum.

  

Faison-  This school year marks the inauguration of Duplin County Schools' partnership with the Global Schools Network. As such students, teachers, and administration across the county will be “traveling around the world” as they navigate through the curriculum in each grade level and subject area.

 Duplin is among only 13 North Carolina school districts selected as inaugural members of the Global Schools Network (GSN). GSN is an alliance of schools, organizations, and business communities committed to creating collaborative and multi-faceted approaches to international education. This year all schools in Duplin County will begin to implement global concepts and a global culture into daily instruction.

 “This is truly an exciting time for us,” explained North Duplin Elementary (NDE) Principal Ben Sautter. “We have been looking for a way to ensure we are meeting the global requirements outlined by our state and by Duplin County Schools' Five Year Strategic Plan. The partnership with the Global Schools Network provides us with a perfect vehicle and necessary resources to expose our students to the world. The faculty and staff at North Duplin are to be commended. They have taken the concept and really expanded it.”
At North Duplin Elementary School, each grade level has adopted a continent. Within each grade level and continent, classes have adopted a country.

 “We don't know where in the world our students will be going one day in the future or what jobs they will be doing,” said Sautter. “We must expose them to the world. We have to think globally and prepare them to become global thinkers.”

“Our overall goal for this adventure is to create a multicultural learning environment in which children have opportunities to learn about other countries and develop an appreciation for and an acceptance of diversity,” explains NDE Global School Committee Chair and Third Grade Teacher Debbie Rose. “We want our students to gain an understanding that people everywhere are much the same.”

 At NDE kindergarteners will study South Africa, first graders will explore Brazil, second graders will learn about Canada, third graders will travel through China, fourth graders will study Scotland, fifth graders will explore Australia, and sixth graders will travel through Egypt.

 One only has to walk through the hallways to see the staff and students at North Duplin Elementary School have fully embraced the Global Schools concept, providing a model for the county and region. Brightly colored bulletin boards fill the hallways with sports, animals, native dress and customs of the continents and countries. A display in the gymnasium teaches students common greetings from around the world. An “International Hallway” displaying flags from various countries and “World Wall” lend to the ambiance of the building. One teacher noted students are quick to point out “their” adopted country's flag and continent as they travel down the “International Hallway.”

Rose explains, “At various times throughout the year we will share with each other important and interesting information we have learned about our selected countries. I like to think of our school as a global village under one roof learning from each other. In the spring we are planning a multicultural fair highlighting the various countries. We have also planned guest speakers throughout the year.”

 Additionally for one week each month, a country will be highlighted during the morning announcements. In Rose's classroom, students have adopted China. They have begun reading Chinese fables, studying the location of China on the map, eating fortune cookies and they have even eaten rice with chopsticks.
“For those of us at North Duplin Elementary, the world is getting smaller as our vision for the importance of global awareness is getting broader,” states Rose. “There is much truth embedded within the lyrics of the song, ‘It's a Small World After All.'”