Morristown Beard School’s annual global studies trips for students provide opportunities for students to learn, help local communities, and bond with classmates, truly embodying the MBS core value of awareness of diverse perspectives. Trips vary from being more academic-based, cultural-based, or community service-based. Past destinations include Hawaii, Costa Rica, Australia, Sicily, Cambodia, London, Thailand, Tanzania, and Colombia with the number of students per excursion ranging from 15-20 students.
Director of Community Service and performing arts teacher Ms. Andrea Deventer takes part in trips each year that focus on service. By going on these trips, members of the MBS community gain an eye-opening experience as they get to closely observe life in developing countries. For example, many of the locations on these service trips don’t have clean drinking water or consistent access to electricity. Students who have gone on these trips have built floating villages in Cambodia, a school building and playground in Panama, and a school building in Africa. “I’m grateful to Morristown Beard School,” Deventer said, “for allowing me to share these opportunities with students, and I encourage all students to try and participate.”
Two of the programs Deventer partners with for these trips are Habitat for Humanity, a global nonprofit housing organization, and Give and Surf, a nonprofit organization providing sustainable empowerment of communities in Panama. Habitat for Humanity trips that take place during spring break, are taken to cities in the United States including cities in Alabama, Florida, and Texas, while summer trips are often international.
In Hawaii, students get to learn about plate tectonics, Hawaiian culture, the evolution of coral reefs in a more experiential learning setting. For example, students can snorkel while learning about the coral reefs. They can go hiking on a volcano while discovering the science behind those volcanoes.
Mr. Brad Turner, science department, has organized trips to Hawaii through the Global Studies program. So far, he has run the trip four times. The trip to Hawaii tends to focus on the theme of sustainability.
As a science teacher, Turner loves to be a part of this trip so he can let students experience places where science happens. His favorite part about these trips is his opportunity to get students excited about what makes him excited. “They are educational trips,” Turner said, “but there is also a component of fun in that. You’re going with your classmates, some of them you may not even know that well, but after spending a week with them, you can develop new friendships.”
By going on a spring break or summer break trip through school, students have opportunities to give back to communities, learn new things, and make new friends. There are many places to go and many experiences to have. This spring break, there is an art-based trip to Mexico, and a service trip to Panama with Give and Surf. Next summer, there will be a science-based trip to Iceland and a service trip with Habitat and Humanity.
For more information on these trips, visit the MBS website using this link: MBS Global Studies Trips 2024
