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Homestay from far away

SD 10's international education program hosted an information night for those interested in taking part in the homestay program.

The international education program for School District 10 recently held a homestay information night at the Nakusp Secondary School library.

The international program for SD 10 is still quite new as it only started last year.

There are currently five international students in the district and they all attend Nakusp Secondary School (NSS).

“We have available Lucerne Elementary Secondary School, as well as Nakusp Elementary and Nakusp Secondary,” said Ryoko Kobayashi, part of the international program. “If you are an elementary school student, the rule is you must come with a parent.”

Kobayashi said living with a homestay family is the best way to learn English and immerse in Canadian culture.

In order to help offset having another person join the family, homestay families receive $800 a month. This is slightly higher than other districts, because the program takes into account the need to go farther for things like shopping or hockey. If the family is active, the student goes everywhere with the family.

Two people who showed up for the information session were Warren and Stephanie Fulmore.

The Fulmores are currently the homestay parents to one of the international students, but it’s not the first time the couple have taken part in something like this. When they lived in Saskatchewan, they hosted several homestay students, including students from Finland and Cameroon.

“We like learning about other cultures, the different foods, and different things like that.” said Stephanie.

“For us, it’s enjoyable, and we try to be a little creative, and have fun,” said Warren. “They have fun, and they grow, and we grow, and experience life.”

It’s not just the families and the international students that are getting something out of this. The students at NSS are having a positive experience as well.

“At the Educational Partnership Committee meetings, we have student representatives who come from each school,” said Heather Dennill, also part of the international program. “The student representatives who come from NSS said ‘It isn’t just the international students that are getting a benefit out of this, we are too. We had no idea about these cultures, and we’re learning so much about what it’s like out in the world, and not just in Nakusp.’

“They had nothing but positive things to say about the experience of having kids from all over the world come and join them in their studies.”