CARIBOU, Maine — The RSU 39 school directors gave the green light for the Caribou High School French Club to take a trip to Quebec and the CHS Music Club to take a trip to Halifax. The responsibility of raising money for the trips lies within the student groups. However, the school board has agreed to finance the transportation via bus.
French student Ben Ezzy gave a speech, completely in French, to the school board describing what the trip to historic Quebec City entails.
Dan Fishman of the Caribou High School World Languages Department, followed up Ezzy’s presentation by explaining all aspects of the trip in English.
“This trip is proposed for the third week in May,” said Fishman. “It will begin on Sunday and go all the way until Tuesday night. We would be taking a school bus, with your permission. We will meet in the school parking lot around 6 in the morning, and arrive in Quebec City by noon. We will be met by a guide who gives us a tour of the city, we will check in, and have our first night there. Then we have a whole day, and then head back home around 1 p.m. on Tuesday.”
“Last year we had such a great time, and tour guide loved our kids so much, because they weren’t used to kids who were so polite, that he offered to treat all of them to ice cream. The kids were having so much fun that they refused. They had eaten so much and done so much that they just wanted to go home and go to bed. It’s a great opportunity for the kids, and they get to speak a lot of French,” Fishman added.
So far, 12 students are signed up to take the trip to Canada.
“How do the kids get the money to go on the trip?” Asked board member Kent Forbes. “My concern is, do you ever have disadvantaged students who are unable to participate due to the economic situation?”
“Last year, we actually were able to get a scholarship for one of the students,” said Fishman. “This year, with only 12 students, there is no buffer zone for that sort of thing. For students who really want to go and have no money at all, I may work with them and try to start a fundraiser.”
Fishman emphasized that Quebec City is one of the safest cities in North America, and that there are little to no risks involved with the trip.
“The kids love it there,” said Fishman, “because they say ‘I have more freedom here in Quebec City than I do in Caribou.’ That’s what they like more than anything else, is that, as a young 16- or 17-year-old kid, they have the freedom to go out and explore the city.”
The board made a motion to allow the World Languages Club to take the trip to Quebec City in May 2016.
CHS student Ezzy stepped up to the podium once again to propose a high school music trip to attend the Atlantic Music Festival in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
“The festival is an adjudicated event evaluating performing groups against an international music standard,” said Ezzy, “which includes categories such as tone, intonation, balance, blend, precision, and overall music presentation, to name a few. These are things that we work on in class every day. Upon completion of our performances, we will have the opportunity to be evaluated by qualified adjudicators who will help us improve our musical understanding of the literature that we play. We will also have the chance to listen to other performing groups from across eastern Canada and the United States, critiquing their work against ours.”
“Having the time to work musically in a another country, with a different culture than our own, will also provide us with an ever-changing world that has gotten smaller with the advent of today’s technologies,” Ezzy added.
According to Vaughn McLaughlin of the Caribou High School Music program, roughly 80 students would attend the trip. The overall cost is approximately $500 per student.
“We are looking to raise $40,000,” said McLaughlin. “We have done one fundraiser already that raised between $3,500 and $4,000. We didn’t want to proceed any further until we made sure we had board approval.”
“This trip involves a larger group going to Canada,” said Forbes. “How will you deal with passports? I’m sure there are several kids in your group that do not have a passport. Will that be an issue?”
“As long as they have a birth certificate and they are under the age of 18,” said McLaughlin, “they should be cleared through Customs.”
McLaughlin explained that students also need to take an equipment list to the U.S. Customs office before returning to America, and to let Canadian Customs know what they will be taking back.
“So you have a fair amount of confidence that you will be able to raise $8,000 a month for the next five months?” Forbes asked.
“I have a great deal of confidence that we will be able to do that,” said McLaughlin. “We should be able to raise enough money for the kids who can’t afford it and the kids who can will be able to pay upfront. I don’t think funding is going to be an issue.”
The school board unanimously agreed to approve the trip, allowing the group to fundraise for the event.
