Hamber Goes Global: A Look Into School Trips Over Spring Break

Photo Credit: Brooke Nicole

Over spring break, Hamber students travelled across the globe. Challenge Studio students visited Italy, band students explored Montreal and Quebec City, and choir students toured London. 

Forty-eight students in grades 10-12 from Challenge Studio, Hamber’s Mini School program, visited multiple cities in Italy during their 10-day trip, including Rome, Florence, and Venice.               

Although a large focus of the trip was social studies enrichment, teacher chaperones also made an effort to expand to other interesting topics. Ms. T. Yip (Science) shared that an exciting topic to explore through a scientific lens was the Pompeii eruption. 

“I taught about Pompeii, a big historical site, [because of] the volcanic eruption. In social studies, they learn about Pompeii as a historical site for a volcanic eruption. However, this also ties in nicely with the plate tectonics unit that grade 8s learn in science [class], which exposes them to an interesting cross-curricular perspective,” she shared. 

Students such as Joshua Wong (10) also appreciated the many guided tours the group participated in. 

“One example was when a tour guide taught us about the network of caves underneath the city of Orvieto,” he shared. “We learned how the people of this town were able to access almost unlimited water through a system of underground wells.”

Eloise Lee (11) enjoyed learning about art, culture, and religion during the trip. “We learnt a lot about artists such as Michelangelo, and I liked learning details like how he painted himself into the Last Judgement,” she explained.

To prepare for the trip, Lee learned a few phrases in Italian, and found that "senza carne" — which translates to “without meat” — was especially useful, since she is vegetarian.

Wong, on the other hand, didn’t learn any Italian, but he found that wasn't a problem, since almost everyone in Italy spoke English, he said. 

Challenge Studio students would normally travel to Ashland, Oregon, but “because the school board doesn’t allow us to go on trips to the States,” the program decided on Italy as their destination this year, explained Challenge Studio Program Coordinator Ms. M. Poon (English). Since the Vancouver School Board (VSB) limits overseas trips to grades 10, 11, and 12, students in grades 8 and 9 were not able to participate.

Another VSB policy regarding school trips requires teachers to book the trips with a tour company. The program booked the Europe trip with STS Tours, a company based in Surrey. Ms. Poon shared that because Hamber has had a relationship working with the tour company for over a decade, they offered flexibility and more affordable prices than larger tour companies.

Throughout the trip, a tour guide accompanied the group, and in each city, a local guide also joined the students and teachers. “[The local guides] were generally really good. They were very informative,” Ms. Poon shared.

The trip had a tight itinerary packed with activities. Lee shared that her favourite stop on the trip was Pompeii, explaining, “I really loved the experience of seeing what the lives of Roman people thousands of years ago were like.” 

In turn, Ms. Yip declared how much she enjoyed the food, exclaiming, “I would eat my way across Italy. Delicious food.” 

Meanwhile, ten choir students took a five-day trip to London over the break. Ms. S. Lui (Science), who chaperoned the trip, said it acted as a cultural art exchange. London was chosen as a destination because the city has a variety of shows and musicals that relate to the choir and strings curriculum.

The trip followed a strict itinerary, which was organized in tandem with tour company EF Educational Tours. “I think [they] were accommodating about us wanting to do other things as well. Like we got vocal jazz tickets, which were not a part of EF Tours,” shared Ms. Lui. 

In addition to the shows, the students visited sights such as Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, and the Sky Garden. 

Jennifer Lee (10) shared that her favourite activity was seeing Windsor Castle. “We got a tour inside, and we got to see so many cool things, like Queen Elizabeth’s tomb!”

Meanwhile, a highlight for Hazel Chan (10) was watching live theatre every night. “My favourite show was Mamma Mia, because I actually watched the movie, so [the show] was a lot more entertaining.”

Finally, band students visited Montreal and Quebec City for their annual spring tour. The trip lasted seven days and accommodated 39 students, who performed four concerts in addition to attending workshops hosted by McGill University professors. 

Mr. N. Francis (Music) shared that while the trip itinerary was packed, “We like it to be busy.” He added, “We do make sure we have time for sightseeing and cultural activities as well.” 

In Quebec City, the group visited the Plains of Abraham, the site of a historic battle, and the Martello Towers.

Recalling his favourite parts of the trip, Brendan McGinnis (10) shared, “We got to visit some cool landmarks, and my favourite part was probably all the sightseeing we did.” Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal, a church in Montreal, was a particularly memorable landmark for McGinnis. It is the biggest church in Canada, and McGinnis appreciated its architecture and sheer size.