Over spring break many students went to tropical destinations to get away from the cold, but Ms. Frédérique Toft and Ms. Amy Jo Hyde took a group of fourteen French students on an educational trip to France. The purpose of the trip was to immerse the students in the culture and allow them to practice their French. The group of fourteen students, chaperoned by Toft and Hyde, got to stay with host families, go to a French high school, and take a tour of several museums and historic landmarks in the cities of Tours and Paris.

When they arrived on Saturday, the students had the opportunity to spend a weekend with their host families who had students who were of similar age. On Monday and Tuesday, they were able to participate in a foreign exhange program at a high school in Tours. “One of my host families had a girl who was in high school, but had a lot of exams that week,” French IV student Caroline Murphy said.

After visiting the high school, the group took a trip on the metro up to Paris with Hyde and Toft. While in Paris the students had the opportunity to tour the Musée d’Orsay, Rodin Museum, and the Louvre. “I really liked Musée d’Orsay, which is the place where Hugo was filmed,” Murphy said.  

The next day, they toured Notre Dame and then sampled some exotic food at nearby restaurants. One of the most memorable parts was going through the museums with a tour guide. “Doing the museums with a guide was great because you don’t get to see a lot of museums this way, but we got to get the story behind it,” Toft said.

They also had to opportunity to explore the Renaissance era castle which once hosted Francis I. “We went to a Château de Chambord, a Renaissance style castle which once was a hunting castle for Francis I,” Toft said.

Since Toft grew up in the city of Tours, this trip was a homecoming for her. “I’m from France so this was the first time rediscovering my country through a different set of eyes,” Toft said.

Toft has lived in France before, but this was her first time seeing the country from another student’s viewpoint. “Seeing them draw connections between what we did in class and what they have in front of their eyes was the most rewarding experience,” Toft said.