What they did on their summer vacation

What they did on their summer vacation Longwood students invaded Normandy, Paris and London

BY KYLE REITAN/CONTRIBUTOR
First appeared in The North Shore Sun

More than three dozen Longwood High School students certainly had something special to share about their summer vacation when they returned to school Tuesday. The 38 students, in grades 9 through 12, had the opportunity to travel with their classmates to Europe this August.
The European trip took the students to the cities of London and Paris and the French regions of Brittany and Normandy. They visited such sites as the Louvre, Palace of Versailles, Omaha Beach and the Eifel Tower.
"The purpose of the trip was to increase the students' awareness of the cultural and historical aspects [of Europe]," said social studies chairman Daniel Tapia.
The overseas tour was to help the students understand international governments and languages, and, most importantly, to give the students an opportunity to handle themselves responsibly on such a trip, Mr. Tapia said.
Chaperone Patrick Cauchi, a longtime English teacher at the high school, said he was fearful at first about how the students would behave. But Mr. Cauchi recalled the tour guide's noting how "he could not believe that these kids did not talk about alcohol, did not curse, were not disrespectful, and relatively did not complain about anything ... to see students rise to that occasion just made the experiences of France and England so much more meaningful to me as a teacher of 30 years."
Months prior to the trip, preparation began with meetings of chaperones and teachers with their groups to study Europe's history, geography and customs.
The trip to Europe was an "open invitation" to all high school students with a clean discipline record. About 150 students showed interest during meetings before the summer, when the group was condensed.
Ultimately, the $3,000 trip was priceless to the students.
"My favorite part was seeing the Eifel Tower at night and seeing it lit up," said junior Michelle Engel. "Everything was just so beautiful."
Global studies teacher Marisa Florio said her experiences traveling internationally with students this summer will benefit her style of teaching future students.
"I will be able to teach it from a different perspective," she said. Future lesson plans will feature photographs from the expedition, particularly Normandy Beach and the Palace of Versailles. "That's stuff you can't find in textbooks," Ms. Florio said.
Junior Ian Cook, who has traveled to Europe in the past, said, "It's pretty cool to be able to take in the more historical aspect of it. It was definitely an amazing time and I hope to go on another one sometime soon."
For some students, Europe was a major culture shock.
"It's different," said senior Erica Kannry. "You have to learn to accept other people and different things to do."
Said sophomore Chris Singlemann: "The culture over there was a lot more relaxed. You got to see a bunch of different art and history that you don't get to see in America, because France is so much older and historical than America."
All of the students interviewed came back with a positive view of their experience.
"I think it's really important for [young people] to be able to travel because I think we need to be able to realize that there's a whole world out there and we need to be able to think outside living in New York or the United States," senior Ashley Sabatino said.