Harker’s tradition of combining the latest technology with education continues as strongly as ever. Dozens of Harker middle school students have been participating in a pen pal exchange with the Nazarbayev Intellectual School in Astana, Kazakhstan, over the past few months, through a connection courtesy of Harker alumna Lauren Gutstein ’06, who is currently teaching English at the school.

On Feb. 7, the students video conferenced with their Kazakhstani buddies, and were able to interact face-to-face for the first time. The students participated in a question and answer session, as well as a fun show-and-tell, where both groups of students showed current trends, fashions, games and talents. The conference concluded with Harker students teaching their Kazakh friends some American slang, and with the Kazakh students teaching Russian and Kazakh words and slang in return.

What a day of crosscultural learning and connecting!