Students will have the chance to go to Europe this spring break, practice their language skills and experience the famous cultural attractions of two destination cities: Madrid and Paris.
Although last year’s trip was canceled because of low signups, French teacher Elaine Haggerty and Spanish teacher Stephany Marks are hopeful for the turnout of this trip. While the trip is being pitched mainly to French and Spanish students, it is open to all students.
The group will visit Madrid and Paris for three nights in each city. By combining the two language classes for the trip, Haggerty and Marks are aiming to get a sufficient number of signups, a problem they have struggled with in years past. In particular, last year’s canceled trip — which would have visited Barcelona, Paris and Avignon — was set for the same week as prom, a conflict that kept most juniors and seniors from signing up.
Spanish classes used to visit Mexico as their class trip, but that trip hasn’t been offered in several years since Arnaldo Rodriguex, now a substitute teacher, retired as a department chair and Spanish teacher.
“We wanted to set up another trip,” Haggerty said. “It’s a way for Spanish students to go to Spain and [French students] to learn [that culture] too.”
The trip will have tour guides in both Madrid and Paris who speak English, meaning that French students in Madrid and Spanish students in Paris will not miss out on valuable cultural experiences in a new city. In both cities, students will have numerous opportunities to speak the language to locals and put their skills to use.
“I’m excited to go to Madrid because I’ve never been there,” Haggerty said. “We also get to go to the Loire Castles, so that’s exciting. You get to see some cool places on the trip.”
Other key moments of the trip include a Seine River cruise, a visit to the Louvre Museum and a visit to the Prado Museum, among others. The complete itinerary for the trip is available for students on QR codes in the language classrooms.
Discounted signups end on Oct. 15, and general signups close on Nov. 5, so Haggerty stressed that signing up on time is key to getting the trip up and running.
All meals, accommodations, transportation and tour guides are included for the $4,498 cost of the trip.
Marks said the main goal for the trip is for everyone to have a good time and be comfortable with the language.
“[I want students to] want to travel more and use their language abroad, because you can’t just learn language in class,” Marks said. “I want to stimulate that.”
