A new ship display with a slogan of “from many nations one crew” sits in a showcase by the English as a Second Language hallway. The ESL department created this display to further reinforce the idea that “we are all in the same boat.”

“We wanted to create a sense of community,”Eve Sherwood Folley, an ESL teacher assistant and builder of the ship, said. “At a teacher meeting the principal emphasized that our theme for this year was going to be ‘you belong here,’ so in order to carry out that theme, I decided to create a ship since pirates need a ship and a crew.”

Although the number fluctuates as students come in or transfer out of the program, as of now ESL students at PHS are from 18 different countries. Most ESL students are not familiar with some things we do at PHS on a daily basis. This is why interacting with them will help them learn and be more comfortable with the school.

“Talk to them, make a friend, say hello,” Sherwood Folley said. “Our whole goal is for the ESL students to engage with the others and for them to join clubs and athletics.”

ESL students are really curious about the school and would feel more comfortable participating in these activities if they had a friend to help guide them.

“I would have been interested in being more involved at PHS, if I had someone to guide me,” a ESL senior said.

“You have to understand that some of these students have been through horrible things in their life such as poverty, famine, war, and some also came here without family,” Sherwood-Folley said.

This is why they may be scared or hesitant to join in.

“If you see someone looking lost in one of your classes,” Sherwood-Folley said, include them in your conversation. It will really make their day.”