An informational meeting on Feb. 15 hosted by Principal Pascente shined more light on the upcoming Europe trip slated for April Spring Break 2025.
There have been rumors throughout the year about a huge trip planned, which was recently confirmed by Pascente. This is the biggest trip the school has ever planned!
The trip will last between 9 to 11 days and it is for students who are going to be 11th and 12th graders during the 2024-2025 school year. At the moment the school is working to lower costs for any students interested in the trip as it’s currently very expensive.
The students are given 3 votes between 11 tours, on where the trip will take place. However, before you go cast your votes, here are the qualifications for the trip. First thing you need to know is, you have to be going into the 11th or 12th grade in the year 2025. That means current sophomores and juniors are eligible to attend.
Students must also have the ability to travel to and from the US. According to Principal Pascente “that’s important, so if you are a permanent resident, you are able to travel… if you are a citizen you are able to travel… and then you may need a visa, EF tours will help you with all that.” So basically what he is saying in simplest form is that you need to make sure that you have all the paperwork that allows you to travel from and to the US like a passport. As Principal Pascente said the last thing they want is to take you to Europe and not be able to take you back.
Additionally, students need to be in good standing academically and discipline-wise. This means that you need to be on track to graduate on time or move on to the next grade. You can not go on the trip if you are behind on credits or have current disciplinary problems. Picking fights or misbehaving might also be grounds for exclusion. Principal Pascente says participants must sign a form promising they won’t smoke, drink, or use any kind of narcotics during the trip.
Parental consent is, of course, required as well as all immunizations.
Those who meet all requirements are eligible to sign up for the trip, but there is still a lot more you need to know, mainly with the potential locations and cost that is required.
There will be fundraisers to help lower the costs so make sure to keep an eye out for those.
Students have many opinions regarding the trip; many think it’s a pretty interesting and fun idea! A student stated, “I can see the integrity in doing this, so it’s quite amusing they are putting this trip for many to enjoy”. Another student saw it as a good opportunity to have a cool addition on student records for colleges to see. However there are also many concerns, many worrying about safety and costs. That being said, later this year, there will be a meeting where the trip details will be more fleshed out. Even with those concerns, all agree that this is an amazing once in a lifetime opportunity to go out there and see the world.
Speaking of costs, Lisbon and Porto will be the cheapest tour. As for our top votes so far we have London and Rome, Switzerland and Italy and finally England, France and Spain.
A list of all the tours and prices will be provided below for all interested :
- A taste of Spain $3,279
- Lisbon and porto $3,179
- London and Rome $3,589
- England and Scotland $3,459
- England, France, and Spain $3,669
- Florence and Rome $3,309
- Amsterdam and Paris $3,259
- London to Paris $3,369
- Berlin, Prague,Krakow and Budapest $3,229
- Switzerland and Italy $3,489
Disclaimer, this event is still ongoing and information is changing fast, for all the latest news be sure to talk to Principal Pascente.
