This year PMHS brought back the Language trips where students go to the countries of the language they are learning.
The French trip was accompanied by Advisors Ariadne Livaditis a High School Teacher of French, Scott Avena a Middle School Teacher of French, Pia Fiorelli a Middle School Teacher of Spanish, and Liane Livigni a High School Math Teacher as well as a small group of students from grades 10-12.
In 2017, PMHS French students had the opportunity to travel to Montreal. the trip was planned by Mrs. Lividitas and Ms. Calvelli. Lividitas said, “I subsequently planned trips to France 2018, which didn’t happen due to low enrollment.” And in 2020, the trip was canceled because of COVID, which came as a large surprise to everyone in the world. In 2022, there was another trip planned and set to happen that the district canceled because of COVID protocols.
To plan these trips Pelham uses a tour company called ACIS which stands for American Council for International Studies based in Boston, MA. These trips can take up to six to twelve months of planning. The trip was Wednesday February 14th to Wednesday February 21st, 2024
The planning of the trip is mainly done by Mrs. Lividitas. It was her idea to take the trip, when she reached out to ACIS to come up with an itinerary that would work. She presented the entire itinerary to the Board of Education for approval in hopes that it would be cleared. Lividitas said, “I am extremely grateful to the Board of Education, the administration, and the community for their support.” Once they approved, then began the next part of enrolling students and preparing for the trip. While it wasn’t difficult, it was an arduous process. She said, “Leaving my own family was very emotionally draining, however successfully planning a trip was very rewarding professionally.”
The trip always works as first come first serve with priority towards seniors and 24 students are needed for the trip to be in the green.
Lividitas said, “We began our trip in Paris. The first day was extremely exhausting because we were fighting jet lag and walked so much.” They saw the Eiffel Tower, went to Montmartre and saw Sacre Coeur. They ended the night with a boat cruise of the Seine. She said, “It was magical to see Paris lit up at night.” The next day they did a guided Paris bus tour and went to the Latin Quarter, and saw Notre Dame, Fontaine Saint Michel, they did an outdoor painting class on Ile Saint Louis and had dinner in French people’s homes. The next day, the group had a guided tour of the Louvre, then left Paris and headed to Chartres, where they saw the quaint town and famous Cathedrale. In the evening the class arrived in Tours. The next day they saw Châteaux de Chenonceau and Châteaux de Chambord, and then to Normandy to stay in Saint Malo, the storming of D-Day World War 2 Beaches, the American Cemetery, and Museum. The next day they all went to Mont Saint Michel. Lastly they headed back to the final evening in Paris.
The beneficial parts of this trip was that not only was it transformative for the students but the Advisors as well. Mrs.Lividitas said, “I am so grateful to the Board of Education and the community for allowing me to give students this opportunity. Having real life exposure and situations that encouraged students to engage with locals was my objective. Students had the opportunity to eat dinner in French people’s homes to engage in authentic conversations. Students had to order lunch on their own everyday. This trip was beyond beneficial.”
A large highlight of the trip for Mrs.lividitas was, “getting to know my students outside of the classroom and watching them practice French and take risks. It was such an adventure to get so close to my students over the course of this week.”
