As COVID-19 restrictions begin to diminish, school organized trips have become available to students again, giving students the opportunity to travel.
With the inclusion of these chances to travel to places such as Spain and to the Grand Canyon, students are able to apply the knowledge they learn to places outside of the classroom.
Science teacher Ian Burley is organizing this summer’s Grand Canyon and National Parks trip.
Burely said that while on the tour, students will be relating the information they have learned in school to the overall experience.
“Environmentally speaking, we talk a lot about national parks and the preservation of resources while in the classroom,” Burley said. “One of the resources we are investigating while on this trip is the night sky.”
While on these trips, students will be exposed to new surroundings, which is important to the learning experience.
According to senior Maddie Runk, the experience of being in a new area to learn is superior to other forms of learning.
“This type of experience is better than reading or virtual learning, in that you are truly submersed in new and incredibly different environments,” Runk said.
Spain trip advisor Brittany Mercado said that the trips should be offered more often.
“If all works out for next year’s trips, I would like to have trips every other year,” Mercado said.
“I think it’s important that students are offered these opportunities.”
Sophomore Abby Nyce hopes these experiences will be offered each year.
“I really like the idea of these trips being more frequent,” Nyce said.
Additionally, these trips have encouraged students to be more aware of the information they learn in class.
Nyce said she has been concentrating more during school because of the Spain trip. “I’ve been paying more attention in class to gain enough knowledge for the trip,” Nyce said. “I’ve also been more interested in Spanish culture and the language.”
The trips are also chances to travel out of the state and country to experience new cultures.
“Traveling to these places gives students more variety when it comes to learning about cultures, religions and different countries,” Nyce said.
Furthermore, it allows opportunities for those who don’t have a chance to travel outside of the country.
“Not a lot of them would get a chance to go on these trips if it weren’t for the school,” senior Jadyn Vinhar-Robinson said.