Bear Creek, Overlake host Uruguayan exchange students through Building Bridges program

For the sixth consecutive year, The Bear Creek School is hosting Building Bridges.

January 11, 2016 4:38 pm
Building Bridges students pose in the Spanish classroom at Bear Creek’s new Upper School building. Front row
Building Bridges students pose in the Spanish classroom at Bear Creek’s new Upper School building. Front row

For the sixth consecutive year, The Bear Creek School is hosting Building Bridges.

This is a short-term exchange program that provides visiting students from Colegio Seminario in Montevideo, Uruguay, giving students the opportunity to learn about American school and culture.

Students attend high school classes and participate in field trips to several Seattle area landmarks as well as participate in Bear Creek’s annual Ski & Snowboard Program at Stevens Pass Ski Area on Fridays. Visiting students share their language and culture with Bear Creek students during JanTerm (a two-week mini-semester in early January) and the first week of spring semester. This is a chance for students to learn from each other and make lifelong connections and friendships.

This year, Bear Creek welcomes 10 students, five boys and five girls ages 15-17, from Jan. 4-25. For the second year the Building Bridges program also includes The Overlake School, which will host an additional six Uruguayan exchange students.

For more information about Building Bridges, contact Gabriela Llanos, Bear Creek Spanish teacher, at gllanos@tbcs.org or Natalia Morales, Overlake Spanish teacher at nmorales@overlake.org. Additional information about the program can also be found at buildingpuentes.wordpress.com/about.