In roughly 12 hours, Eurotrip25 will be in the air!
I am thrilled to once again be leading a group of students overseas to help them discover the world. When I travel, I often use the slogan "One Must Travel to Learn" to highlight the reasons why I take studets overseas with me. The phrase was originally declared by Mark Twain and I came to know it when a former colleague and dear friend, Kate Payne, found it one day before we embarked on Eurotrip13. It has become my travel philosphy, of sorts. I know not everyone has the means to travel. As a teacher, I never thought I'd be able to travel for work like so many of my friends get to do. So, to turn travel into a learning experience was something that I jumped at early on in my career.
2025 marks the twentieth anniversay of my first student tour of Europe. As a chaperone on Mr. Fontanella's Italy trip, I was blown away by how much the kids changed while on tour. Everything was new for them. Some kids fell in love with art and others really dug the archeaology. The food tasted fresher and so many kids tried things that they would never taste while at home. They matured and, honestly, so did I. In those twenty years, I have traveled on approximately 15 student tours. I've worked with about two dozen different colleauges. I've been to over 25 countries. And each time, I learn something new about myself, the world, and more importantly I see the kids learning too.
The Saugus High School Alumni Association has helped sponsor these trips for over a decade. Their generous donation covers the expense for a really nice Hoodie (You'll see this years in my next post). I am so grateful that they see the value in this experience too. They are not alone in helping to make it happen. This year, roughly 20 people ordered items off of Amazon or donated through Venmo to help fill EF Tours backpacks with helpful goodies, journals, and other travel accessories for each traveler. These folks, combined with School Administrators, School Committee members, and others throughout the community have really helped make International Student Travel part of the fabric of Saugus High School.
I will be posting tonight, while in the air (if the WiFi holds up) and I will go over a few details of what this blog has become for me (and others), but I also wanted to start typing this morning and wipe the proverbial cobwebs off of the keyboard. Until then, I will say 'adios.'
Mr. Lavoie, currently finishing his packing and making sure his supply of snicker bars is well stocked.
Safe travels!!
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