Over 30 students, faculty and staff have traveled across the globe with Doane Stuart this year. Read about their adventures and see photo galleries from their time in Austria, Spain and Northern Ireland.
An enthusiastic group of Upper School students and faculty (and even a Head of School!) spent their spring break amidst the churches, museums, palaces, mountains and culture of Austria. The nine day excursion was led by Upper School Teacher and Academic Dean Bill Russell. He was joined by fellow Upper School teacher Dr. David Wells, Middle School Co-coordinator and teacher Mrs. Patty Hodgkinson and Head of School Pam Clarke in the chaperoning of a group of 18 students (Jessie Brozek ’16, Marko Crnkovic ’16, Antonia DiPreta ’18, Lucas DiPreta ’18, Dalton Hanaway ’17, Erin Hanna ’18, Alison Jones ’18, Sophie Lacijan ’18, Shan Leng ’17, Sam Lu ’17, Eli Miller ’17, Anna Murdock ’18, Will Murdock ’18, Andrew Nakushian ’16, Lauren Nelson ’16, Dillon Norton ’18 and Hannah Nye ’18).
The tour kicked off in Saltzburg where the group visited the birthplace of Mozart and enjoyed a Sound of Music tour, which included the church and iconic gazebo used in the classic motion picture. While stationed in Saltzburg they traveled to the town of Berchtesgaden in the picturesque Bavarian Alps, complete with a visit to the area’s famous salt mines.
The group then traveled on to Vienna, with a stop in Melk in Lower Austria to visit the famed Melk Abbey. During a full day of sightseeing in the heart of Vienna they visited St. Stephens Cathedral, and the Hofburg Imperial Apartments, which houses the Sisi Museum and the Spanish Riding School. The following day was packed with more adventures in Vienna, including a visit to the Schönbrunn Palace, Mayerling (the crown prince Rudolf’s hunting lodge), the Seagrotto (an underground lake!) and the Lichtenstein Castle.
Check back in for stories and first-hand accounts from our travelers, but in the mean time visit Mrs. Clarke’s blog, “The Clark Connection,” to read about her experience and the importance of travel and of “leaving your comfort zone.”
~ Visit the “Austrian Adventures 2016” Photo Gallery ~
Austria wasn’t the only far-off-land that was visited by a member of the Doane Stuart community during the most recent spring break. College Counselor and Assistant Director of Admission Kathleen Bracken traveled to Spain on behalf of Doane Stuart to explore establishing a semester exchange between the two schools. The school, Colegio Los Sauces has 5 campuses (four in Spain and one in Dublin). Ms. Bracken visited the four campuses in Spain, two located in Madrid (Torrelodones and La Moraleja), and two in Galicia (Pontevedra and Vigo).
Ms. Bracken reported that the schools were all quite similar, with Spanish as the primary language of instruction, but with required English classes. The students there have a strong command of English by tenth grade. They wear a uniform (similar to ours) until junior year and all students eat lunch together in the cafeteria, grouped by age. The schools all have the same ages, PreK through 12. All grades get time outside each day.
Popular sports are soccer (fútbol) and basketball. Each campus has a pool, and every student takes swimming once per week. The class sizes are similar in size to those at DS, with lots of interaction between students and teachers, as well as lots of group work. Students have more choice in electives as they get older and there are extracurricular offerings such as dance, robotics and drama. Ms. Bracken came away impressed with the quality of instruction and warmth of students and staff alike at Colegio Los Sauces. Although Ms. Bracken had a busy itinerary vising and learning about the schools she did have the opportunity to spend some time soaking in the Spanish culture in the Salamanca Provence where she stayed. She also visited the Museo del Prado and spent time in the Parque del Buen Retiro.
The program is open only to sophomores and their families, who must agree to host a Spanish student for the first semester, while he or she attends classes at Doane Stuart. In the second semester, both students will study in Spain, and our American student will reside with the student’s family.
Los Sauces offers a bilingual education; all students graduate with a high level of English fluency. Spanish language support will be offered to Doane Stuart students while attending classes in Spain. Questions about the exchange can be addressed to Mrs. Clarke ([email protected]) or Ms. Bracken ([email protected]).
~ Visit the “Colegio Los Sauces” Photo Gallery ~
These exciting trips to Austria and Spain followed Doane Stuart’s annual visit to Northern Ireland earlier this year. Doane Stuart Instructor and Middle School Co-Coordinator Seamus Hodgkinson and Director of Admission Geoff Bowman, along with seniors Lydia Bagdon, Antoinette Bevins, Jessie Brozek, Kayleigh Dearstyne-Hulin, Thomas Geoghegan, Andrew Nakushian, Renee Ricci and Emma Schillinger, represented Doane Stuart in Northern Ireland from February 6 – February 16 as part of our Irish-American Exchange Program. In addition to attending seminar classes in Irish Language, and Irish History and Politics at Lagan College; this year’s trip again included visits to The Giants Causeway, Stranmillis and St. Mary’s University Colleges, a Coiste Political Tour of West Belfast and The Corrymeela Centre for Peace and Reconciliation. They also enjoyed a rubgy match, wet bouldering, a day in Dublin and much more.
This year’s trip marks the 8th year of the program in which DS students visit Ireland as part of the exchange. Mr. Hodgkinson, who inspired the Irish/American Exchange program, recently said of the trip: “I really want our visiting students to experience a society that is in the process of healing itself; to appreciate that such healing is a long and demanding process; and to return home inspired to share their understanding of how Northern Ireland offers hope in a world where it is too easy to be cynical about, or feel defeated by, the enormity of the problems.”