Pearl Lorentzen
For South Peace News
Students from local schools have not gone on an international trip since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, next year that will change.
At the High Prairie School Division March 22 meeting, the board of trustees approved a request from Kinuso School for a trip to Europe March 26 to April 7, 2024.
The trip will be to Berlin, Dresden, Dachau, and Munich in Germany, Prague in the Czech Republic, Zurich and Lucerne in Switzerland, and Paris and Versailles in France.
The educational goal of the trip is “to enrich students’ understanding of other people, places and cultures,” says the application in the HPSD meeting package.
The estimated cost is $5,789 per student plus $1,000 spending cash per student.
Proposed fundraisers done by students are working at Spruce Point Park Rodeo and highway cleanup. This money goes directly to students to offset costs of the trip. Parents, as casino volunteers, will raise money for gratuities, HPSD bus expense (Kinuso to Edmonton) and toward trip jackets. Parents will pick up students at the Edmonton airport after the trip.
The trip will be led by three education assistants and parent volunteers. It will have an estimated 23 students. It will be arranged through Education First Tours and will be a combination of guided bus and walking tours.
The main concern on these trips is if teachers miss school. It can be hard on students left behind. However, in this case the trip is run by education assistants, so it is not an issue.
“It looks like a real interesting trip,” said Faust trustee Lorraine Shelp.