St Paul's College recently hosted some very special visitors all the way from Hiroshima, Japan. The small group made their way to Kempsey through a 'Friendship Force International' exchange, an organisation dedicated to creating long-lasting cultural relations with other countries.
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Former staff member at St Paul's, and Friendship Force International member, Jan Stubbs helped oversee several activities for the international visitors, including an exclusive tour of the school's agricultural farm.
"We've been teaching our guests how to use a printing press, and the finer points of pottery, which is a lot harder than it looks," she said.
"In the afternoon, we gave them a tour of the agricultural farm, and a cooking class in the schools hospitality rooms."
The visit to St Paul's was only for the day, but the guests from Japan were in town all of last week.
"They were billeting with our local Friendship Force International members here, and for many of them, this was the first time they've ever been to a farming country town like Kempsey," Ms Stubbs said.
While it was one of the more unusual requests he has received, Principal Kevin Lewis was more than happy to host the small group from Japan.
"When Jan approached me with the idea, I immediately said yes, we were thrilled to be a part of this. The opportunity for our students to learn first hand about another culture was too good to pass up," he said.
"At St Paul's, we try to go beyond the curriculum, to give our students the best education possible."
Friendship Force International is a nonprofit organisation founded over 30 years ago and has expanded to have clubs all over the world.
Anybody interested in learning more, or joining the group, can contact the local president, Peter Garty on 0408 998 891.
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