Greenies See the World on Summer Trips
With education in mind, boys visit Europe and Spain
Summer is a time for everyone at Christ School to catch their breath.
But the break from classes does not mean that learning is put on hold. Even if it requires a little international travel.
T.J. Bell '19, Patrick Shea '20, Wilton Graves '21, Michael Mahoney '20, Peter Zhou '19, Robert Dong '21, Hale Caffery '19, Henry Duggins '20, Wesley Thomas '22, and Parker Groh '20 could feel the echoes of battles fought in northern France and Belgium during the "Remembering World War I" student trip from May 25-June 2.
Two more groups of Greenies journeyed to Spain for The Ambassador Program to Salamanca three-week study abroad program in June and July.
Student trips at Christ School are planned out months in advance. In fact, Director of Service Learning and History instructor Olga Mahoney is already coordinating a trip to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day in 2019. Fathers and sons are welcome, and should contact Mahoney at omahoney@christschool.org for more information.
Mahoney also chaperoned this summer's World War I trip, which allowed the boys to not only explore battlefields used in the conflict, but tour such sites as Versailles, where the Peace Treaty was signed. They also got a chance to do sightseeing like any other tourists in Paris. Mahoney said the boys "gained new perspectives that they will use to bring back lessons to their classrooms." She also talked about the importance of teaching war history through class projects and student trips.
"They teach us about the cause, the scope, the impact, and the effect," Mahoney said. "But we also learn that every casualty has a story – a town, a family, an occupation."
Caffery, Duggins and Michael Mahoney were part of both the World War I trip and June's outing to Spain, as was English instructor Emily Pulsifer.
Retired World Languages teacher Marshall Baltazar designed The Ambassador Program to Salamanca 10 years ago in conjunction with the Colegio Delibes school. It is a total immersion experience – the boys live with Spanish families and take daily language classes. They participate in cooking classes and learn to Salsa dance, take in a soccer match or two, and tour castles, cathedrals, and walled medieval cities.
Other Greenies who attended the June session in Spain were Jack Adams '20, Jackson Bewley '20, Connor Booher '20, Miles Gardner '20, Connor Hall '20, Lux Haney-Jardine '20, Benjamin Lowry '19, Max Masiello '20, Kevin McCarthy '19, Theo Pearson '20, William Saye '20, David Shainberg '18, Thomas Smoots '19, Peyton Surface '19, and Richard Zantzinger '20,
Of the eight students who attended the July session, seven were Greenies – Jay Kelligrew '19, Finn Bridgeford '18, Weller Kreimer '19, Dixon Molloy '18, Townsend Budd '18, David Wells '18, and Sawyer Duhaime '18.
