Tabatha Saake

Climbing over boulders, junior Tabatha Saake visits Elephant Rocks State Park in Belleview, MO.

Every March, both students and teachers get a break from school for a week. They travel all over the world, or stay at home, but either way they bring back new experiences.

Some students, like junior Mahnoor Malik, used this break to their advantage, touring colleges and thinking about their future.

“I visited Loyola, Northwestern and University of Chicago. I chose those specific colleges because I’ve been interested in them ever since I started the college search process,” Malik said.

Lead by Latin teacher Tom Herpel, students in the Latin program went on a trip to Italy for 10 days. They traveled to multiple cities across the country.

“We strive to bring our ‘retired’ language to life on a daily basis in the classroom and this trip allows our students to experience what they have only read about in their textbooks,” Herpel said. “I studied in Rome for a semester and the world became larger, human differences became smaller, history came to life. It has been an absolute pleasure to give my students that same eye-opening experience.”

Students from all four Parkway schools were involved in the trip, with about 40 students in all traveling together.

“I’m always impressed by how well the students from different schools get along. By the end of the trip, the students are eating meals with each other, sharing information about their lives outside of Latin class and figuring out ways to keep in touch,” Herpel said.

Freshman Katie English also went out of the country for her spring break.

“I decided to visit my sister in Paris and I loved that it gave me the opportunity to experience the city,” English said.

English took an extra step to make the traveling easier, making a stop in Chicago before going to France.

“I went to Chicago to be interviewed by TSA people to get global entry,” English said. “That means I get a card and I don’t have to go through customs when going out of the country, which comes in handy because we travel a lot.”

Not everybody goes out of town, however. Some students stayed in St. Louis, and explored new areas around home.

“I tried to make the staycation the best that it could be,” junior Tabatha Saake said. “I went to places I had heard about before, like Elephant Rock Park and a restaurant called Carl’s.”

No matter where students went, they gained new perspectives and enjoyed the time off from school, coming back refreshed and ready for the last weeks of the semester.