Our classroom learning pushes the borders of creativity and educational innovation, but leaving the boundaries of the Texas state line connects learning to the greater reaches of our global community. Travel is a necessary tool for the development of a global citizen, and our trips this year have connected our students to a monumental milestone, an historic culture and an unexpected opportunity to help rebuild a community across the globe.

“It was a profound moment of transition and hope,” says Humanities/Performing Arts teacher Melissa Andrews of the high school trip to Barak Obama’s Inauguration in Washington, D.C. About 25% of our high school student population attended the trip, which included museum sightseeing, the invocation to the Inauguration, and President Obama’s speech at the Capitol. “There was a vibe in the air of glorious patriotism,” she says.

While the D.C. trip was a glimpse into the initiation of a new era, a spring break trip to Italy was a glance at the old. Led by Math teacher Eric Mann and his wife, Laurie, seven students soaked in centuries-old architecture in Tuscany, the leaning tower in Pisa, and the mystique of the Renaissance in Florence. Staying in the Hotel Scoti in Firenze, they were walks away from the monumental sites in the Ponte Vecchio, the Duomo, and Piazza della Signoria.

Further south, Director Khotso Khabele and eight students didn’t just observe a community, they helped rebuild it. In the Klip Town community, one of the poorest in South Africa, a fire had destroyed several homes while the Khabele group was visiting. They pitched in to help rebuild and built lasting connections with several of the community’s youth leaders in the process. The South Africa trip also included a Safari, a tour of the northern and central regions of the country, and a three-day pony trek into the mountains of Lesotho.

Costa Rica was an adventure. Student adventurers included Gabe Werchan, Anne Grethe Gotun, Emily Ashlock, Jake Howell, Becky and Annie Nash, Will Walsh, Lindsay Grace, and Davis Geiger, led by science teacher Jason Daniel. They soaked in hot springs at the base of an active volcano, took a boat ride on a lake with a volcano erupting redhot lava by the shore, and took a horseback excursion through the forests with breathtaking views. They flew through the air on a zip line adventure in the cloud forest and experienced the culture of Costa Rica, eating the delicious food, watching traditional dances and visiting a primary school as well…a truly unforgettable journey!