From June 10 – 19, Montverde Academy hosted 54 Chinese students from Shanghai. For a week and a half, these students had the opportunity to immerse themselves in three of MVA’s language courses to enhance their English proficiency: communications, public speaking, and writing. Students were also able to take advantage of a few activities outside the walls of Montverde Academy. They greatly enjoyed their trip to Universal Studios in Orlando, along with a trip to Walmart and an outlet mall!
6月10日至19日，蒙特沃德学院接待了54名来自中国上海的留学生。在一周半的时间里，这些学生有机会沉浸在MVA提供的三门语言课程中，以提高他们的英语水平。课程包括传媒课，公共演讲课和写作课。学生们还可以利用在校期间参加蒙特沃德学院校外的一些活动。他们非常喜欢奥兰多环球影城的旅行，还去了沃尔玛和奥特莱斯购物中心!
In their communications course, led by Mr. Oscar Torres, Upper and Middle School media arts teacher, students learned to communicate with each other as a film crew. Each class section created their own short sci-fi film. One class worked on a film about a girl who, after placing headphones on her head, could hear different objects in the classroom speaking. Another class worked on a film about underground clubs that competed to create objects out of thin air. And one class worked on a film about a scientist who, while working in his lab, attempted to open a portal to a new dimension. “I have been very surprised by how quickly the students have learned,” said Mr. Torres. “Some of them have already done photography or something film related, so they are doing phenomenal. One of them has directed before, so she’s directing and moving the lights where they need to be, choosing the colors, and taking initiative regarding the creative aspect. A lot of them have shocked me, and I’ve been very thankful to be able to see them at work.”
在MVA高中媒体艺术老师Oscar Torres先生的带领下，学生们学习了如何像电影摄制组一样相互交流合作。每个班级都创作了自己的科幻短片。一个班级制作了一部关于一个女孩的电影，她在头上戴上耳机后，可以听到教室里不同的物体在说话。另一个班级的作品是制作一部关于地下俱乐部比赛凭空创造物体的电影。还有一个班级的工作是拍摄一部电影，讲述一位科学家在实验室里工作时，试图打开通往新维度的入口。Torres老师谈道，“学生们学得这么快，我感到非常惊讶。他们中的一些人已经有过摄影或与电影相关的经验，所以他们做得很出色。其中一位同学以前还执导过，所以她负责指挥和移动灯光，调色，并在创意方面主动给予建议。他们中的很多人都让我震惊，我很感激能在课堂上看到他们的工作。”
Under the guidance of Mr. Aubrey Connelly-Candelario, Upper School choir teacher, students fine-tuned their public speaking skills. They worked on thinking and speaking in English, and they performed extemporaneous speeches to demonstrate how to do something, such as how to make brownies. They performed reader’s theatre scripts, which included the story of Sherlock Holmes in The Hound of the Baskervilles. They also conducted live interviews with each other about topics in the news. “[I was surprised] by how knowledgeable they were about world events, politics, ecology, etc. and how thoughtful they were about these topics,” said Mr. Connely-Candelario.
在MVA高中合唱团老师Aubrey Connelly-Candelario 的指导下，学生们提高了自己的演讲技巧。他们练习用英语思考和表达，他们表演即兴演讲来演示如何做某事，比如如何做布朗尼蛋糕。他们表演了读者戏剧剧本，其中包括《巴斯克维尔的猎犬》中夏洛克·福尔摩斯的故事。他们还就新闻话题进行了现场采访。Connely-Candelario老师谈道，“我很惊讶他们对世界大事、政治、生态等方面的知识如此渊博，对这些话题的思考也如此全面周到。”
“My overall experience at MVA [has been] absolutely amazing! ” said Shanghai student Judy Luo. “Not only is the campus so large and beautiful, but every single person I met is so nice! I love the sunshine, the lake, the ice cream shop, the squirrels, the classes. My dorm parent has to be one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. She greets me with a hug, a smile, and a ‘good morning, sweetheart’ every morning, making the start of my day so exciting and energetic. I love the tongue twister in public speaking class and how we got to introduce ourselves by a poem in writing class.
“我在MVA的整体经历绝对令人惊叹!上海学生Judy罗同学谈道。“校园不仅大而漂亮，而且我遇到的每一个人都很友善! 我喜欢这里的阳光、湖泊、冰淇淋店、松鼠和课堂。我的宿舍管理员绝对是我见过的最善良的人之一。每天早上，她都会给我一个拥抱、一个微笑和一句“早上好，亲爱的”来迎接我，这让我每一天的开始变得如此兴奋和充满活力。我喜欢在公共演讲课上的绕口令，也喜欢在写作课上用一首诗来介绍自己。
“My favorite class had to be film class because this was an entirely new experience for me, and it was so fun. I watch a lot of films, but this time I actually got to be on the production side! As the director of my group, I learned so much: from what to say before actually starting to film — the ‘slide in,’ ‘action,’ and ‘cut” — to editing and adding sound effects. I’m so glad to have been a part of an amazing team and to be able to produce such an awesome film! The satisfaction after seeing the final product is indescribable. I remember telling my mom that MVA is so nice that I actually want to transfer here. This was truly an incredible experience, and I hope I’ll be able to visit again!”
“我最喜欢的课非电影课莫属，因为这对我来说是一种全新的体验，而且很有趣。我看过很多电影，但这次我有机会参与到制作环节中!作为我们小组的导演，我学习到了很多东西: 从正式开始拍摄前的“准备工作”、“开机”和 “暂停”到剪辑和添加音效。我很高兴能成为这个了不起的团队中的一员，能够制作出这样一部很棒的电影! 看到最终成品后的满足感是难以形容的。我记得我告诉我妈妈说MVA太好了，我真的很想转学到这里。这真是一次不可思议的经历，我希望我能有机会再来!”