Travel Programs

At Rivers, we acknowledge that our student’s education is enriched and transformed by interdisciplinary, hands-on global learning experiences that happen beyond the classroom. Travel programs at Rivers enliven the learning experience by making connections between the classroom, the field, or the stage and the world. They ignite enthusiasm for learning and help focus students’ interests, talents, and passions. Travel programs both enhance our students’ relationships with mentors and peers while broadening their vision of our diverse world and their role in it. Participation in our programs increases students’ self-awareness, teaches self-reliance, and supports students’ social-emotional development. Our programs build leadership, communication, and community engagement skills for an interconnected world. Students develop a sense of global citizenship as they gain awareness of varying perspectives. They benefit from creating empathy-based connections with people of various backgrounds and cultures. Participation in our programs leads to a greater understanding of the inequalities and differences nationally and abroad.

TYPICAL PROGRAMS

Italy and Greece Trip

The Rivers trip to Italy and Greece will provide students with the opportunity to explore both the ancient and modern cultures of these two countries. The goal of the program is to provide experiences that integrate history, literature, and language with the students’ direct experience of the cities and sites they visit. Students will be able to explore firsthand the art and architecture they have read about in their studies while getting more information about the specific locations they travel to from their teachers and guides. Students will come away with a deeper appreciation of the ancient Mediterranean world through the locations to which they travel, the food they eat, and the storied histories they hear, which in turn will enhance their connection to the human experience across the centuries, and allow them to connect with cultures unfamiliar to them more easily.
Middle School Trip to Quebec

The middle school trip to Quebec is an opportunity for students from grades 6-8 to immerse themselves in the culture of the French-speaking province. The trip takes place during a long weekend in the spring where students will visit Montmorency Falls - a waterfall 100 ft. taller than Niagara Falls. Students will spend time walking through the streets of Old Quebec where they will visit cathedrals, a fort, museums, battle sites, and a former prison. Students will also take a ferry ride on the Saint Lawrence River, and experience the process of making maple syrup firsthand by visiting a cabane à sucre.
Cádiz: At the Intersection of History and Contemporary Spain

The Rivers’ Summer Session in Spain is an opportunity for Rivers language students to experience firsthand the excitement of traveling and living in Spain. Students are immersed in the language, life, art, and history of Spain, living with Spanish families and studying both in and outside of the traditional classroom setting. Family homestays are intended to enhance the work of students in class, providing them with valuable experience and insight into daily life in Spain.

This academic program integrates morning language classes with afternoon field activities. Weekend excursions to sites of cultural and historical importance complement in-class learning. Students attend weekly classes at Rivers beginning in late January to prepare for this program and to lay the groundwork for the interdisciplinary projects that they will undertake while in Spain. In Cádiz, Students are placed in appropriate levels in Spanish based on a placement exam taken at Rivers before departure.
French Exchange Program

The Rivers French Exchange with the Lycée Georges Duby, in Aix-en-Provence, provides Rivers students with the opportunity to host a French student and to live in a French home with a host family. We believe that this is the best way for students to connect with another culture, and if applicable, immerse in the language. In the spring, French students come to the Rivers community for two weeks, stay with Rivers families, and go on day trips with their group in the Boston area. In the summer, Rivers students will become part of a French family and visit the beautiful surrounding areas of Provence and the Mediterranean. This is an opportunity to experience the different ways in which people live around the world and see real-world applications of their studies at Rivers. Students will be immersed in the language, culture, family life, history, and art of France.
China Cultural Trip

The cultural trip to China will guide students to the country’s most iconic cities and sites. Students will visit the Shanghai Art Museum and learn about the history of the city. Students will travel to Suzhou City to visit the traditional Chinese garden to learn about traditional architecture. The group will then head to Xi’an where students will visit the historical Terra Cotta site, learn the history of the city, and understand the multiculturalism of the area by visiting the Great Mosque and the history museum. Following, students will travel to Beijing where they will experience the center of culture and history in China, visit a local high school, Tiananmen Square, the Royal Palace, and climb one of the Seven Wonders of the World: The Great Wall of China.
Civil Rights Trip

In an era where discussions of racial discrimination have come to the forefront, we recognize that it is important for students to contextualize current controversies and recent events involving institutional racism. Visiting sites of the Civil Rights Movement and African American history offers students a close, firsthand experience of this history that builds upon what they have read. Learning about this story is to discover what it means to be an American; it forces us to recognize the values that we claim to believe in as Americans, and how we have lived up to and how we have failed to live up to those values.

The group will fly to Atlanta and continue on through historic sites in Montgomery, Selma, and Birmingham, Alabama. Students who have taken Upper School courses in United States History, Civil Rights in the United States, and Race and the Supreme Court will find connections to the history they have learned.
Jazz Trip to Cuba

The music trip to Cuba will give the Rivers Jazz students a new and unique life-changing musical and educational experience. Students will investigate the rich music and culture of Cuba with a special focus on Havana.

Students will visit the Abdala recording studio, rehearse with Cuban conservatory students, and have a recording session at the ISA School. Students will visit the Fabrica de Arte Cubano, and perform in a joint group concert. The students will have a Cuban music master class and visit Cayo Hueso and Hamel Alley, and Rumba, Old Havana. They will attend a live music show and a lecture on Cuban music at the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory. Rivers students will visit and exchange rehearsals with Cuban conservatory students. Students will have a day trip to Matanzas and a visit to San Severino Castle.

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Learn About Travel Programs

Read past travel blogs written by students and faculty on the immersive global programs offered at Rivers.

Travel Blog

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Rivers admits academically qualified students and does not discriminate against students or families on the basis of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or ethnic or national origin in the administration of its educational programs, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, athletic programs, and other school-administered programs.

Travel Programs

TYPICAL PROGRAMS

Italy and Greece Trip

Middle School Trip to Quebec

Cádiz: At the Intersection of History and Contemporary Spain

French Exchange Program

China Cultural Trip

Civil Rights Trip

Jazz Trip to Cuba

Learn About Travel Programs