OHCHS students learn Chinese

OHCHS sister school with Chinese high school

By Chelsea Rugg, journalism student, OHCHS

OXFORD HILLS — Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School is the first school in the area to have a sister school in China.

This partnership was formed in 2001 with Zhejiang Normal University High School. Not only does OHCHS send students and teachers on trips to China, they receive gifts that show parts and pieces of Chinese culture, like books and art.

There is also a teacher at OHCHS from the sister school in Jinhua. Her name is Xiandan Xie, but her students call her Grace.

Xiandan is teaching classes in Chinese language and culture and Mandarin Chinese.

When she arrived at OHCHS, she noticed that there were not many books on Chinese culture in the school’s library, but that there was an interest in it from students.

She applied for books from her school in China, and received about 1,000 books. Not many are out in the high school library, but more will come out eventually, and some may be donated to other schools in the district and the public libraries.

Also in the OHCHS library is a collection of Chinese art. One piece is a fan with a story on it written by a famous Chinese calligrapher, about friends gathering together and the importance of friends and family in Chinese culture.

The other pieces are just common things from China, like a tassel or a little pouch you may put money in.

According to Xiandan, the purpose of forming this relationship between schools and teaching Chinese culture and Mandarin Chinese, the language which is spoken by more people than any other in the world, is for students to achieve “international cooperation.” It's about educating youth in both Maine and Jinhua about a culture unlike their own. 

While having a sister school relationship may seem insignificant, Craig Blanchard, a history teacher at OHCHS who helped form this relationship, creating a better understanding of Chinese culture could be very beneficial for American youth.

“I want authentic connections to be made between our two peoples,” says Blanchard. “I believe that through these connections, both societies can come to understand and accept each other. These understandings need to start at a young age.”

He believes that these two separate societies should know more about each other than what they see on television, in order to maintain good relations between both countries. 

Since the sister school relationship was formed, Blanchard has visited China with students and other teachers five times. Three teachers have come to America to teach at OHCHS and one American teacher was sent to Jinhua for one semester.

Blanchard said he will return to China again this year with another group of students from OHCHS, eager to learn more about China and experience new opportunities.

Photo: Chelsea Rugg

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