Residents at Ashton Court care home in Newcastle have ‘gone international’ after their partnership with an Australian nursery school prompted a ‘friend request’ from a Spanish secondary school.
After engaging on the Christmas Card Exchange Worldwide 2021 Facebook group the care home received many responses, from as far away as the USA, Netherlands, and Australia.
Residents will be exchanging Christmas cards with everyone who replied to the home’s post and are creating special Newcastle-themed cards and calendars for the youngsters at the Barngeong Reserve Kindergarten in Croydon, Victoria.
Now IES La Fresneda, a secondary school in Asturias in northern Spain, has contacted the home to exchange Christmas cards as the first step to forging a partnership to enhance both the residents’ and the students’ experiences. They hope to keep in touch through online chats to exchange stories that bridge the age gap and help the pupils learn to communicate with people in different languages and from different cultures.
Nikki Foggin, activity co-ordinator at Ashton Court said: “We were delighted when Carol Rodriguez from the school’s English department got in touch.
“We’ve had such fun creating Christmas cards for all of our international friends and to take this one step further with the young people from IES La Fresneda will be wonderful for our residents.
“I think we will learn as much as the students from the interaction and am really looking forward to hearing all about life in Spain. Perhaps we will even be invited to visit!”