Governor’s hosts six international and domestic trips over March break

For the first time since March of 2019, The Governor’s Academy hosted trips for students over March Break. Students and faculty members jetted off on three cultural-language trips, and three athletic preseason trips both domestically and internationally. Language students traveled to France, Spain, and Germany, while the varsity girls lacrosse team, varsity baseball team, and varsity girls tennis teams traveled to South Carolina and Florida for preseason practice and team bonding.

The girls tennis team, led by coaches Bill Quigley P’04,‘10 and Jennifer Storer P’20,‘22, traveled to the greater Orlando, Florida area for some preseason practice in the sunshine. The team stayed about 20 minutes from the United States Tennis Association’s national campus, and worked out with certified tennis teaching pros for four hours each day. The team made time for fun too; visiting local restaurants and Disney Springs at night.

The boys baseball team also headed to the greater Orlando, Florida area to train in the warm weather. They held practices, scrimmaged other high school teams, and bonded as a group. Head Coach James Cramphin, Jim O’Leary P’17,’20,’21, and Scott Kingsbury P’20,’24 led the trip.

The girls lacrosse team headed to Hilton Head, South Carolina with coaches Bert McLain P’07, ‘09, Amy Block ‘06, and Sarah Powers. Players and coaches stayed in villas, cooking their own meals, which is always fun! The team practiced both on the beach and at facilities used by Hilton Head Lacrosse Camp. Players enjoyed the warm weather in South Carolina, and were able to bike around the island, go to the beach, play tennis, and hike around Harbor Town.

Head Coach Bert McLain looks forward to this trip each year, saying “Having several days of concentrated sessions for lacrosse was a great way to start the season. Perhaps equally important, though, is the bonding that occurred. The players lived together, made all their meals, had lots of laughs, made memories, and literally had a blast. Oh, and we worked on our lacrosse, too!”

Students studying German at Govs traveled to Berlin with German teacher Kirsten Stetson P’22. Students fully immersed themselves in the local culture by staying with German host families and attending classes at a local school, Rückert Gymnasium. They visited a plethora of historical landmarks and sites including the Berlin Wall Memorial, Holocaust Memorial, Mauermuseum, Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, and Reichstag. The group also took a trip to nearby Potsdam, saw the Sanssouci Palace, and shopped on famous avenue Kurfürstendamm. The group was treated to a performance at the Berliner Philharmonie on their last night before flying back!

Students on the French trip with French teachers Becky Stratton and Anne Langlais P’23,’25 visited many historical landmarks and sites as well including Pont du Gard, the Louvre Museum, L’isle sur la Sorgue, and Villeneuve. Students in levels French II through AP joined this fantastic ten-day trip to Paris and Avignon. The group spent the first few days in Paris, exploring the sites and walking through the city. The group then descended by train to the small, beautiful city of Avignon. Using Avignon as their base camp, this trip featured excursions to Roman ruins such as Le Pont du Gard and the Colosseum in Arles. Equally important were the excursions to small picturesque villages such as Aix en Provence and L’Isle sur la Sorgue.

Trip leader Becky Stratton says, “We finish each day with a group meeting to share highlights of the day, cultural observations, and to discuss itineraries for the following day. One student said: ‘You’ve given us the trip of a lifetime’.”

Lastly, the trip to Spain was led by Kristen Donahue P’26 and Jack Norton ‘17, who brought Spanish language students to visit local sites such as La Pedriza outside of Madrid, the Aqueduct in Segovia, and Plaza Mayor in Madrid!