Students Travel the World on Spring Break Trips

4/4/2012

Spring is underway here at Rivers, and students and faculty members are settling into daily routines of new classes and sports seasons as they enter the final stretch of the school year. Just a few short weeks ago, however, some members of the Rivers community were far from their typical routines. Three separate groups of students, accompanied by faculty chaperones, spent their March vacations performing for packed concert halls in Lisbon, Portugal, tutoring students in a Romanian elementary school, or admiring Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel.

On March 12, several student-musicians traveled to Porto, Portugal, where they began an eight-day excursion full of sightseeing and musical performances. In Porto, students rehearsed for and performed their first of six concerts over the course of the trip, and still had plenty of time for tours of Porto’s historical sites, a cruise on the Douro River, and even a chilly swim in the Atlantic. From Porto, the students moved on to Lisbon where they met other musicians and performed in a variety of venues, including the city’s famous Jeronimos Monastery.

Director of The Rivers School Conservatory David Tierney, who chaperoned students on the trip, said one significant highlight was a classical concert during the group’s first night in Lisbon. At the scheduled start time of 9:00 p.m., the concert hall had been empty, but by 9:30 the hall was teeming with enthusiastic audience members. For students, the experience captured many cultural differences between performing at home and abroad. Other performances proved to be highlights as well.

“The jazz students had a great combined concert with a middle school big band at the Lisbon Music School, and an extraordinary big band concert for students at the Carlucci American International School in Sintra,” said Tierney.

Despite a packed performance schedule, students had the opportunity to visit scenic cities like Estoril and Cascais, and saw several Lisbon attractions such as the Royal Coach Museum and the Castle of St. George.

Farther east on the European continent, another group of Rivers students set out to spend a week working with Romanian Children’s Relief (RCR) and Fundatia Inocenti, nonprofit organizations that provide care and support to abandoned children with disabilities in Romania. The eight students, along with faculty chaperones Bruce Taylor and Laura Brewer, volunteered more than 350 combined hours over the course of five days.

Maintaining a similar schedule to past Rivers trips to Romania, students worked with children of various ages, from infants to pre-adolescents. At Rusescu Hospital, where Fundatia Inocenti provides its health services, they saw significant health improvements in these Romanian children after just five days of persistent work.

Students also piloted a new service program this year with RCR.

“Because RCR has done such a wonderful job of extending their child services, we were invited to initiate a new program serving as tutors in an ESL program for students in grades one through four at Bucharest’s Public School #31,” explained Taylor. “Some of the girls personally met the principal of PS #31, and he expressed his sincere gratitude for the work they were doing.”

According to Taylor, the week of hard work ended on a high note when the students spent their last evening eating dinner and dancing in Caru cu Bere, Bucharest’s oldest restaurant.

A group of Middle School students embarked on a European adventure of their own over spring break, exploring Italy from the Amalfi coast to the Colosseum.

The trip began in Sorrento, where students took a guided tour through the ruins of Pompeii and hiked up Mount Vesuvius, the active volcano that dominates the region.

“Pompeii was a highlight,” said Head of Middle School Susie McGee. “Students’ familiarity with the history and story from studies in Latin class and recent visit to the Science Museum exhibit certainly added to their intrigue.”

Maria Burzillo ’16 said her favorite part of the trip was the Mount Vesuvius hike.

“As we walked up higher and higher, the view became increasingly more beautiful and incredible,” said Burzillo. “We could see the whole Bay of Naples spread out around us and the blue ocean surrounding it.”

After Pompeii, the group made its way to Rome. The rest of the week was spent exploring Roman ruins and visiting places like the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Sistine Chapel, and Tiberius’ Grotto and Villa on one of the week’s especially gorgeous days. Students also took a traditional Italian pizza-making class and were sure to sample as many gelato flavors as possible.

“I think every day held something special for the travelers,” said McGee. “It was a pleasure to travel with this group of students who were so much fun, eager, and appreciative.”

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