Welcome to a new MPH, with shinning brand new Gym and art center opened up!   We had a very successful first day of school. International students are so welcomed on campus!

元宵节 party

For international students who are spending the holiday season away from home, nothing can bring more comfort and satisfaction than food of home flavor! We had a simple and yet very happy gathering to eat sweet rice dumplings together!

MPH News post on on Hotpot dinner

News report on Chinese new year hotpot dinner

Thank you all for making it a great success!

Hot pot dinner for a hot Chinese New Year 2016

What a great success for our first school wide Chinese New Year celebration! We had 210 people sit together under one roof and celebrated Chinese New Year with a very tasty Chinese hotpot dinner on Feb. 5, 2016. Later, the Chinese students set up calligraphy, paper cut, Chinese knot making as well as hip pop dance in the gym to present the Chinese culture to a large crowd.  This event brought the whole community together and is truly a example of love in action!  Thanks go to the Parents Association, the MPH school administrators as well as all the students and parents for embracing diversity and understanding!


  Pictures worth more than a thousand words. Let's see what is going on here:

Chinese club

Chinese club dumpling party is a great success! Thanks for everyone who came out and supported, and particularly thanks goes to James Xu who organized it so well ! 

Fall season in Central New York is the best time for outdoor activities. We caught the last segment of this beautiful season and took our international students to hike the Bald Mountain in Adirondack and visit Old Forge. What a great trip! Chinese students bonded with the American friends who came along, and it is truly an eye opening experience for the city folks to climb the mountain and have no wifi access! 

MPH News publised a wonderful article about the International Students Program:
http://headlines.mph.net/2015/09/international-student-welcome-party/

Manlius Pebble Hill School has a long history of welcoming students from around the globe. Our International program is thriving and there are benefits to all involved both culturally and academically. This year, Wei Gao, our Chinese language instructor, has taken on the role as International Student Coordinator, and she started the year off with a wonderful welcome party for this year’s international students.
She didn’t take on this task alone. Many years ago, Wei met MPH parent Lisa Arbon, who after returning from China to adopt two daughters, took a Chinese language class with Wei. The years passed and they reconnected when Lisa enrolled her daughter Carli ’18 at MPH. This year, when Lisa learned of Wei’s new appointment as International Student Coordinator, she was quick to offer her assistance and the idea of the welcome party was born.
It was important that it be held early in the school year to allow the students to connect right away. All of the International students and their host families were invited along with several American students to the Arbon home on September 18. The date was set, so they moved on to menu planning, the best part! Wei made dumplings and a noodle dish, with the help of some of the students (James Xu, Tommy Zhao, and Jim Jin took the kitchen by storm!), there were Chinese steamed buns, which were a favorite among the students, and Ichiban donated trays of sushi and other Asian dishes.
Head of Upper School John Stegemen join the festivities and commented on the remarkable positive energy. Students danced, sang, played a variety of musical instruments – it was an impressive sight! They played basketball, beaded jewelry, and in an effort to introduce some American traditions, the group enjoyed pumpkin carving and roasting s’mores around a campfire. The night concluded with the lighting of sky lanterns. Cheryl Storie, Vice President of the Parents’ Association put it best – “it was a magical evening.”
Word has it that many social media pages claimed this was the “best party ever.” Based on the photos, it looks like that just might be true.