Pearl Lorentzen
Lakeside Leader

Local schools haven’t gone on an international trip since before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, next year that will change.

At the High Prairie School Division, March 22 meeting, the board of trustees approved a request from Kinuso school for a Europe school trip for March 26 to April 7, 2024.

The trip will be to Berlin, Dresden, Dachau, and Munich in Germany, Prague in the Czech Republic, Zurich and Lucerne in Switzerland, and Paris and Versailles in France.

The educational goal of the Europe trip is “to enrich students’ understanding of other people, places and cultures,” says the application in the HPSD meeting package.

The estimated cost is $5,789 per student plus $1,000 spending cash per student.

Proposed fundraisers done by students are working at Spruce Point Rodeo and highway clean-up. This money goes directly to students to off-set the costs of trip. Parents as casino volunteers will raise money for gratuities, HPSD bus expense (Kinuso to Edmonton) and toward trip jackets. Parents will pick up students at the Edmonton airport after the trip.

The trip will be led by three education assistants and parent volunteers. It will have an estimated 23 students. It will be arranged through ET (Education First) Tours and will be a combination of guided bus and walking tours.

At the meeting, one of the trustees asked about the impact of missing three days of school on students.
The students will receive worksheets on the trip, said superintendent Laura Poloz. The main concern on these trips is if teachers have to miss school. This can be hard on the students left behind. However, in this case the trip is run by three education assistants, so it isn’t an issue.

“It looks like a really interesting trip,” said Faust trustee Lorraine Shelp.

Trustees also made sure that the plan included cancellation insurance.