News

During the fall term, Newton Country Day hosted 18 Sacred Heart Network Exchange students from Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, and Japan. Students from Barcelona, Seville, Madrid, and Nantes reflected on their experiences in Boston and Newton Country Day as first-time visitors in the United States, sharing the similarities they noticed between their home school and Newton Country Day, the unique qualities of a friendship formed through Network Exchange, and the cultural differences between coed and all-girls schools. 

Upon her arrival, Olivia Barangé, visiting from Sagrat Cor Sarrià in Barcelona, immediately noticed the beauty and expansive green space on Newton Country Day’s campus. “The campus is so big! The trees are so beautiful, there is a lot of green space, and there are such large sports fields.” She remarked that at her coed home school, some students, mostly boys, play soccer and basketball, although not in organized teams. She was pleasantly surprised to see the enthusiasm and widespread participation in girls’ sports at Newton Country Day. 

Lucia Marcos’s reflections focused inside the school building. She noted the differences between the format of the school day at Santa María del Valle in Seville and at Newton Country Day. “Classes feel more casual and comfortable. The schedule changes often and there is more free time throughout the day to work on homework.” She also remarked that while the Newton Country Day library is much larger than she had anticipated, the chapel here is nearly identical to her home school’s chapel, and while the schools operate differently, they both consider the chapel the heart of the community. 

Sofia Galiano from Sagrado Corazón de Jesús - Rosales in Madrid has loved her time in Newton; each positive experience she has in the United States reminds her of how excited she is to show her Exchange sister, Johanna Jane-Leonardis ’27, her hometown in March. They first connected during summer 2024 when they were paired as Exchange sisters and kept in touch frequently leading up to Sofia’s visit to Newton. “The whole summer, we sent each other pictures and talked about how excited we were to visit. Being here [at Newton Country Day] is so nice, but I also can’t wait for her to meet all of my friends and see my house and my hometown.”

Sofia’s schoolmate Valeria Doheijo Gutierrez also shares a close bond with her Exchange sister, May Sullivan ‘27. “I love my host sister,” she explained. “We went apple picking, went to Newbury Street, and went to a Celtics game. We also went to dinner in Seaport and I loved seeing the tall buildings downtown at night. It is so different from Madrid.” She also commented on her experience at Newton Country Day’s Homecoming weekend. To her, the weekend felt like the movies she had watched about American high schools, from the soccer games, to teams arriving in yellow school buses, to fans dressed in school colors and wearing face paint. “I would like to have Homecoming in Spain,” she admitted. “It was so fun!”

Heloise Carton from Collège-Lycée in Nantes, France reflected on how her Exchange friendships and love for traveling have grown since her arrival: “I was definitely stressed out before Exchange; I had to overcome my fear of flying to come here,” she explained. “I initially thought four weeks would be a lot for me; the time away from my family and my home made me nervous. But right now, I don’t want to leave!” The opportunity to participate in Network Exchange and form a friendship with her host sister Dina Zahos ‘25 has empowered Heloise to travel more in the future, to let her love of learning new cultures and languages take her outside of her home country again. “Learning about different cultures is really important to me. I want to go everywhere! This experience confirms that I am ready to have more travel experiences like this.”

Newton Country Day awaits more visits from Exchange students from across the globe throughout the remainder of the school year. This year’s cohort from Newton Country Day will depart between February and March to venture to Spain, France, Italy, Japan, Australia, Chile, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, and Taiwan. Learn more about Network Exchange.