This article was written by Elsie Koger, a student in Journalism class.
U-32 French students will be taking a trip to France next school year during April break. The language department is in the process of putting this trip together for the 2025 school year.
Students are excited to go on this trip to experience different lifestyles and be immersed in the culture and language that they have been studying. “I think it would give me an idea of what French speaking people’s lifestyles are like, and it’ll be good to be surrounded by people who speak [French],” said Adara Morris, a ninth grader taking French at U-32. She is planning on attending the trip to France. She is most excited for, “probably the sightseeing and food.”
Ava Deblois, a ninth grader in French, is also planning on going to France next year with the school. “I know there’s nice beaches in Europe,” said Ava.
Amelia Friot, a 9th grade student, is currently in the French program at U-32. She is interested in going on the French trip. She said, “Just to experience something new because I know it’s just different over there. Just how they are, I know they have different lifestyles.
The students will visit Normandy and Paris. They will leave the Tuesday before April break and will stay till the end of April break. To attend the trip, French students must be rising 10th, 11th, or 12th graders and enrolled in a French class.
“The French trip next year is the longest trip that we have ever taken,” said Caroline Grace, a French teacher at U-32, “I am so excited since I missed the last [French trip].”
Additionally, for French students this trip will be the first year students get to visit Normandy. “We are going to visit Normandy and we’re going to visit the sights from World War Two, which is very exciting,” said Caroline. In past years they have gone to Nice, Paris, and the Mediterranean Sea instead of Normandy. Normandy is a very historical place that students and teachers going on the trip are all excited to see.
Last year they had 32 students go on the French trip. Some of the students were from Harwood High School. Harwood will be accompanying U-32 again next year for this trip.
Students in French class have been writing letters back and forth with students from a high school in France. After visiting Paris and Normandy students will be able to attend that school for a few days. They will stay with families there in France and shadow students at the high school. “It’s the first time and then on top of that we’re able to offer homestay again,” said Caroline.
They have not offered homestays in recent years because of Covid-19 and everyone is excited that it will be offered again next year to be able to experience what it is like to attend a French high school for a few days.
“I feel like it’d be fun, maybe a little scary just because it’s going through high school when I really don’t speak the language,” said Amelia regarding how she would feel about spending days in a French high school, “It is gonna be nerve wracking.”
“They’ll have breakfast with the family and usually we walk to school and so they’ll walk to school and then they’ll follow shadow a student and go to find all the classes and have lunch in the cafeteria and then go back to the family in the evening,” said Caroline, explaining what a typical day might look like for the students.
This trip is something many people are looking forward to and will be a once in a lifetime trip for those who attend. Luci Jeppsen said, “I think it will be good for the students to be immersed in real French culture and see it for themselves.”
Ed Tulloch • Sep 28, 2024 at 12:52 pm
It may seem like a “once in a lifetime trip” for people who’ve lived their lives mainly in central Vermont, but once kids get out into another culture, maybe take their first serious flight, go through the process to get a passport and visa, go through a TSA checkpoint process, they’ll come back different people, and this will be just the beginning. My first grandkids (daughter’s kids) had grown up in the Seattle area, but through hockey, did considerable travel back and forth to the Vancouver,BC, area, so they got a little taste of international interaction. Of course their dad spent a stint in the U.S. Army’s Special Forces, which dropped him into the Balkans for a bit, and their mom spent her elementary years in a missionary kids’ (MKs) school in Malaysia where her parents (my wife and myself) taught for 20 years. Warped her forever. She and her husband just got back from a trip to Latvia to watch their youngest son play hockey. No telling what this first experience will change for your students.
Question: Why is your school called U-32? I thought it was going to have something to do with German submarines when I saw the name in the Opposable substack article online.