[BHS etree] PTSA COUNCIL: Exchange students

[bhs at idiom.com]

Contact: roiapta at mindspring.com
 Below is a letter forwarded to the etree from Roia Ferrazares, president of
the Berkeley PTA Council

My name is Dennis McMahon.  I am the East Bay Coordinator for a new US State
Department program (The YES Initiative) that is sponsoring students from
Islamic countries to study in the US.  The three students that will be
sponsored this year will come from Indonesia, Turkey and the Philippines.
You can learn about the program at:  www.yesprograms.org.

All the students are early High School aged, and are very outgoing.  This is
a merit-based program, so all the students are really good kids with strong
recommendations from their teachers.  They also have very good English
skills (a requirment for this program).  I am currently trying to identify
some host families that would be willing to host one of these kids for 8
weeks in September and October while they attend Berkeley High School.

We are seeking homes for only an 8 week period because some families may
feel uncomfortable about committing to an entire year with a kid they don't
know.  Since the students will be here for the full academic year, the
intent is to give them an opportunity to make friends and integrate with
their classes.  Through this natural dynamic we will have no problem with
identifying longer-term hosts for the students.

In any case, I thought it would be a good idea to run this by you and to see
if I might get this message out to other PTA members.  This is a really
wonderful program that is enriching both for the students and the families
that host them, and I'm looking forward to coordinating a positive
experience here for them.

I would be glad to meet with any interested hosts to show  them some of the
bios on our candidates and to talk more about the program.  Please contact
me at your earliest convenience.  You can reach me at this e-mail address
<brahima91 at yahoo.com> or by phone at 510-685-2573.

Also, if you have any ideas about others that might take an interest in this
project, I welcome your suggestions.
Thank you,

 Dennis McMahon

______________________________
Janet Huseby and Kathryn Capps are the facilitators of the etree; please
direct any questions or concerns to them at <bhs-owner at idiom.com>

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