Message From Peng and Family

May 25, 2009

Dear Friends,

Nearly three months have passed since our dear little Joshua was badly burned in the fire. After having already gone through three major skin-grafting operations and receiving three-month intensive treatments at BC Children’s Hospital, Joshua today moved to Sunny Hill Children Rehab Center to regain his ability to speak and walk.

The past few months’ fighting Joshua’s life-threatening burns has been excruciating pain and unbearable suffering to Joshua and our family as well. We are so proud of Joshua for the courage and bravery with which he has been fighting his burn injuries ever from the beginning. He is a formidable fighter and he has never given up.

Thank God that Joshua now is making real progress towards the right direction. Our family understands that there will be still a long way to go for his full recovery. But we would like to take a short-breath at this stage to say a long-time-due THANK-YOU to you for your concern over Joshua. Some of you made generous donations to Joshua which we deeply appreciate. It is your thoughts, prayers, and friendship that made a huge difference to us in the most difficult time of our family.

Gratefully,

Peng and Family

Next Steps in China Partnerships

On Monday, May 4 all participants in past China programs are invited to participant in an information sharing session on our school partnerships with China and Shandong Province. The event will be held at Connecticut Association of Schools, Cheshire from 4:00 PM to 7:30 PM. There will be a panel on innovative partnership models, roundtables on pertinent partnership topics and informal sharing of partnership experiences. Dinner will be provided. There is a fee of $10. to hold your reservation.

1. Panel on Innovative Partnership Models
Moderator: Mike Buckley
Community Exchange - Paul Smith, Bolton High School
School Collaborative Student Exchange - Lisa Carter, Housatonic Valley Regional High School
Teacher Professional Development Exchange - Jason Hiruo, Newtown High School

2. Roundtable Topics
- Planning a China Exchange Itinerary, Lisa Carter, Falls Village
- Mastering Long Distance Communication, Rich Wood and James Crawford, Woodbridge
- Creating Community Support and Involvement, Guy Stella, Woodbridge and Paul Smith, Bolton
- Exploring Professional Development Program Ideas, Jason Hiruo, Newtown
- Managing Cultural Differences, Bing Liu, Metropolitan Learning Center

3. Networking (American Guanxi) and Sharing Experiences

4. Dinner

To register, click on the link to Connecticut Association of Schools website and select "Next Steps in China Parterships": http://www.casciac.org/register

News Announcement: Learn more about building an enduring partnership with your Chinese school! Go to: http://www.askasia.org/chinese/partnerships/why.htm
Follow the link at the bottom of each article.

Joshua Peng Update - April 23

Joshua has now been moved from emergency to regular hospital care. He is now off the heavy sedation and can communicate with his parents.

Peng continues to express his gratitude to all his Connecticut friends during this time of great difficulty for his family. Peng wants to respond to each of you personally but all of the time for him and his wife is spent at the hospital on shifts to be with their son.

Peng appreciates the support given in many ways -- the cards and letters, the contributions to the Joshua Peng Trust and the thoughts and prayers provided by all his Connecticut friends. We all look to the day when Joshua and his family can return to more normal activity.

Joshua Peng Trust Established

The Joshua Peng Trust has been established to support the son of our friend Peng Zhen, the man who has been our mentor and guide to knowing and understanding China. (See below for information on how to contribute to the Joshua Peng Trust.) The tragedy summarized below has captured the attention and concern of Peng's friends throughout Connecticut, the United States, Canada and China.

On Monday evening March 2, a fire broke out in the lobby of the apartment where Peng Zhen and his family temporary live in British Columbia. The fire spread quickly as residents in the three-story apartment building fled for safety. As Peng’s family was fleeing the building they lost contact with their youngest son, 8-year-old Joshua. He was rescued by another resident, who risked his own life, and was transported to the hospital in life threatening condition. There were many other residents of the apartment building injured in the fire and one died. Joshua Peng suffered burns to most of his body in the fire. He faces a long road to recovery.

Peng is very aware of all his friends in Connecticut and appreciates our support as he deals with his family tragedy. He is very grateful to all the support provided from his Connecticut family as it brings comfort and healing to his family. I share with him the e-mail responses that you have expressed to me.

I know many of you have or are planning to send expressions of your concern to the hospital where Joshua is being cared for. He is currently at:

Joshua Peng
British Columbia Children's Hospital
4480 Oak Street
Vancouver, BC V6H 3V4
604-875-2345

Many of you have requested specific ways that you can assist the Peng family. The Joshua Peng Trust has been established to assist Joshua in his long road to recovery. Contributions can be made to support Joshua by making checks payable to: Joshua Peng Trust.

Mail checks to:

Joshua Fund Trust
Attention: Elizabeth Podd
c/o Rockville Bank
1645 Ellington Road
South Windsor, CT 06074

We thank China traveler, Bill McGurk, President, Rockville Bank, for his support in establishing the Joshua Peng Trust.

Shandong Training Group Departure

I will never be able to know or be able to thank all the administrators, school personnel, host families and community representatives who made the experience for our Shandong principals and teachers a memorable and productive time in their lives.

I witnessed the interaction that took place at the Fairfield Inn as the Shandong teachers and principals were being dropped off. It was certainly an emotional one as many lasting friendships were created making the separation difficult.

I had dinner with the leadership of both groups on Friday evening and had breakfast at the hotel on Sunday morning as they prepared for their depature to New York. It was snowing, a symbol for bad weather in the Chinese mind. The meaning is that they should not depart Connecticut but stay longer. Mr. Liang told me that the group shared their experiences with each other as the traveled to Boston together on Saturday. The experience was very similar to our travel to Qufu together after we have come back from our home stays in Shandong Province. They were very, very happy and expressed many comments of gratitude to all those who so graciously hosted them. Some even went so far as to express that they had become "family" with some of their host families.

I sent them off with red apples to symbolize their education experience and as a gesture for good health. As most of you know their departure is, for many of the participants, a temporary one. In the months and years ahead many of you will see them again or be able to welcome students and other staff from the schools you hosted.

Thank you! Xie xie! Because of your gracious hosting and relationship building, our world will become a much better place.

Hosting Information: Principal and Teacher Training Programs

The Shandong principals and teachers have obtained their U.S. visas and are scheduled to arrive in the United States on December 31. They will first tour sites along the New York and Washington, DC corridor before arriving in Connecticut. After their Connecticut visit they will visit Boston and other sites along the eastern corridor. They will be provided with professional development activities by the Department of Education and Connecticut Association of Schools on Monday, January 5 and Tuesday, January 6.

The activities include an overview of the American education system, the role of the principal and teacher in the American school, an overview of instructional methods in schools and preparation for the home stay experience. Past feedback confirms that significant learning occurs in identifying significant differences in American culture and the American education system. This learning is replicated on the American side when Connecticut educators are hosted in Shandong in the spring and fall of each school year

The 38 principals and teachers have confirmed host family and school placements beginning on January 6 and concluding on January 16. The home stay program will begin between 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 6 with pickup by host schools at Fairfield Inn Wallingford, 100 Miles Drive, Wallingford, CT (203-284-0001). Host schools and families will be responsible for their guest(s) through Friday, January 16. If you decide to take your guest(s) to Boston or New York, please do not be concerned that you may be duplicating an experience your guest(s) mayhave had or will have. The Chinese have a very different perspective on what is important to see and do in visiting many famous places in the United States.

All guests must be returned to the Fairfield Inn Wallingford between 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m on Friday, January 16. The ten day school and family hosting program is a part of the agreement between Connecticut and Shandong and is an integral part of the relationship that is essential to ongoing and future development of sister schools and projects. In some cases, you will be able to establish a sister school relationship if you don't already have one; in other cases, you may be actually hosting an educator from your sister school; and finally, there may be educators who do not have a particular connection to your school relationship. In the later case, keep in mind that all of our activity between Connecticut and Shandong is directly connected to the entire relationship between all schools in Connecticut and Shandong.

A handbook has been electronically sent to each host school contact to assist schools and families with the ten day hosting experience. Mary Goetter is handling logistics for the home stay experience. Any assistance with hosting is welcome, including language assistance. Please contact me at: dwgregg@gmail.com or by phone at my office, 860-713-6744.

Daniel W. Gregg
Director, Connecticut Shandong School Partnerships

Explore China 2009

Two Connecticut teachers, Maria Avery and Susan Kopecki, are planning a group trip to China for July 2009 for interested educators, family and friends. The itinerary includes Beijing, Xi'an, Tibet and Shanghai.

For information on the trip here's the site link: http://www.explorechina2009.blogspot.com/