MISSION MOMENT: COMMUNITY

Service Learning For Sa Students

After a multi-year pause in travel programs during the pandemic, the Sewickley Academy administration was excited to once again provide students with the opportunity to participate in school-sponsored service learning trips that took place in February and March.

Puerto Rico

Eleven students traveled with faculty, Mr. John Basinger and Señora Michelle Bonham, to Puerto Rico February 17 - 21 where they stayed in the capital city, San Juan. As the students volunteered in a community garden as planters, weeders, and harvesters, they were inspired by the closeness of the community. They also performed trail maintenance at a Taino heritage site that includes sacred caves with pictographs that the students were able to study. Additionally, the group from SA learned about and assisted with the process of planting and harvesting at a coffee farm, particularly enjoying the opportunity to sample the various coffees produced there. The

You get to see your students outside of the classroom. Since they are all in a new environment, they rely on each other and you and that builds some amazing bonds.”

John Basinger, Math Department Chair and chaperone on the trip to Puerto Rico students experienced the culture through a dance class and a visit to the COPI Cultural Center, and broadened their culinary knowledge at a cooking class as well as a jam and jelly workshop at a chocolate farm. The trip included walking tours of the city, a cavern hike, and visits to the historic Castillo San Felipe del Morro fort, La Coca waterfall, and the

Tower in the El

Yokahú

Forest. The group returned with tremendous knowledge about the region, its history, and culture.

In addition to these trips, a group of students is scheduled for a 9-day trip to Poland in partnership with Classrooms Without Borders. The annual Swiss Semester for Grade 10 students will also be available for up to five participants in September through December.

Belize

Dr. Ron Kinser and Ms. Jamie Nestor led ten students on a trip to western Belize during Spring Break in collaboration with Global Public Service Academies (GPSA). Over the course of this week-long service trip, students performed basic health assessments, including blood pressure, blood sugar, pulse, and body mass index, for rural populations in a number of healthcare settings. Many of the students acquired these skills while taking World Health, an elective offered biennially through the Global Studies Department. In addition, students created and delivered health-related lessons and activities for two local elementary schools and a specialneeds camp for kids. In their free time, students visited the Xunantunich Mayan Ruins, hiked in the jungles of El Progreso, visited the AJAW chocolate factory (grinding the cacao by hand with a stone), participated in a pottery workshop at the Women’s Co-op, and explored sustainable coffee production at

“This was a transformational trip for our freshman daughter. She was a little nervous about the trip initially, but when she returned she was a cup overflowing with stories, experiences, and a new perspective on life.”

Matthew Christ, father of Annabelle Christ ’26, who went to Belize the Oxmul Farm. Students were in homestays throughout the trip, which made it easy to share in the lived experience with the villagers of San Antonio. Being immersed in a cross-cultural experience allowed students to learn about new foods that included fruits, vegetables, herbs, and traditional regional dishes, as well as to help prepare meals, play with kids, practice Spanish, and so much more. The trip to Belize left a lasting impression on all travelers, showing the fundamental importance of relationships, collaboration, and service to others.

Right from the beginning, we were trusted to work in a clinical setting, given the space to make mistakes, and were supported every step of the way. In only a week, we made so many lasting friendships with the children in our neighborhood and host families and became so much closer with one another.”

Civil Rights

From March 23-26, nine students traveled with Ms. Jessica Peluso and Mr. Rodney Slappy to Alabama and Georgia on a Civil Rights tour. Leaders of SA’s Black Student Union generated the idea, created the itinerary, and hosted multiple fundraisers and community events to support the trip. Students immersed themselves in historical context and had the opportunity to experience a variety of informative and interactive museum displays, hear a firsthand account from someone who was a child during the march from Selma to Montgomery, and reflect in conversation about the connection between the past to the present and the work that is still being done today. Their travels took them to the cities of Birmingham, Selma, and Montgomery in Alabama, as well as

in the Dead Sea

Israel

Atlanta, Georgia, during which they toured several museums including the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, the Voting Rights Museum, the Rosa Parks Museum, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Legacy Museum, and the National Museum of Civil and Human Rights. They were also able to visit significant landmarks such as Kelly Ingram Park, the 16th Street Baptist Church, the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the Brown Street AME Church, the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, and Smith Plantation. Additionally, the students enjoyed southern cuisine and toured the campuses of two historically black colleges or universities (HBCU), Clark Atlanta University and Morehouse College.

From March 18-30, Ms. Kate Lukaszewicz led five Sewickley Academy students and five students from other local schools on a service trip to the Children’s Village in Karmiel, Israel, organized by Classrooms Without Borders. The Children’s Village is a gated community composed of foster families, where parents may care for as many as ten or twelve children who cannot be with their biological parents. Our students quickly built meaningful relationships with the Children’s Village families, bonding despite language barriers. For the final days of the trip, the group visited the ANU Museum of the Jewish People, learning about Jewish customs and the Jewish diaspora. After a tour of ancient Jaffa, they headed to the Negev Desert, where

The Israel Study Seminar was one of the best experiences of my life so far. It truly captured what it means to be a global citizen in regard to taking action, learning about the world around you, and appreciating everyone who is part of the global family.” they learned of Bedouin customs before a night of stargazing and sleeping beneath a Bedouin tent. Other activities included a morning hike in the desert, floating in the Dead Sea, and riding a caravan of camels. The trip concluded in Jerusalem, wading through the frigid water of the ancient City of David and visiting the Western Wall at the base of Temple Mount.