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Foxcroft Students Travel to France

2008-07-15 14:25:47

A group of 12 students and two faculty members from Foxcroft Academy spent their April vacations this spring far from the Academy’s quiet campus: they travelled abroad to France on this year’s International Club trip. Mrs. Teresa Farrar advised the club this year, and in 26 years of teaching, she said this was her first trip abroad with students. She was joined by chaperone Beth Postlewaite, and with the help and guidance of a quirky yet charming Irish tour guide, the group visited such famed destinations as Paris, the Beaches of Normandy, the chapel where Leonardo da Vinci is buried, and the Palace of Versailles.

The International Club has a different advisor every year, and as the Academy’s resident French expert, Mrs. Farrar volunteered to advise this year’s trip. In addition to the previously mentioned stops, students also had the opportunity to visit three castles in the Loire Valley, Bayeux Tapestry, and Mont Saint Michel, among others. Foxcroft Academy students joined with a group of high school students from Vermont on the trip, and Mrs. Farrar said “The kids were great representatives of Foxcroft and the U.S. I was very proud of them.” Before this trip, many students had never left the United States, and some had never even flown before. “I just think giving them the wider world view is so important,” Ms. Farrar said of the trip.

This trip also enabled students to interact not only with the landmarks, but to engage with the culture and people of both the French countryside and cities. Lindsey Hewett, a student who participated in the trip, said, “I noticed that a couple of the students and I started speaking French to one another. When we would see people on the street, we would want to say ‘Bonjour’ and ‘Merci’ instead of ‘Hello’ or ‘Thank you.’” Hewett also said that she thought the trip enabled students to learn a great deal more about the culture of France than could ever be learned in the classroom.

To learn more about Foxcroft Academy and its foreign language department och student clubs, click here.

Posted by lina