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Spanish club plans trip to Spain independent of WCSD

When the Spanish Club takes its biennial Spanish Club trip in 2020, it will not be as the Spanish Club.

In terms of the next trip, Warren Area High School Spanish Teacher Jewel Rozanski is getting away from the auspices of the school district.

She has taken students to Mexico, Costa Rica, Peru, Spain, Italy, and Puerto Rico, as well as domestic destinations in the past. But, each time, it was as a district employee with district students and the approval and support of the district.

The next trip, this one to Spain, will be different.

“By not going through the district (for approval), we will be able to open it up to students from whatever school would like to attend,” Rozanski said.

Although it is helpful, it is not required that students be able to speak Spanish.

“While I want all students to be Spanish students, some students just love to travel and see the world and experience different cultures,” Rozanski said. “I had a young lady go on two of my previous trips who only had one year of Spanish just because she loved to see the world and she was wonderful. I would hate to deny others like her the chance to go.”

“The trip is geared towards high school aged students — so students in eighth currently and up can go,” she said. “We will be having an application process however to ensure to the best of our ability that only students who are mature enough and socially and emotionally ready for such an experience will go. This will be gone over with parents at our initial meeting.”

That meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 23, at the Conewango Club.

Rozanski will schedule the trip for June 2020, shortly after the end of the school year.

The anticipated cost for the 11-day trip is about $3,800 per student. The cost for adults who choose to go along will be higher.

Because Rozanski is out from under the umbrella of the district, there will be no Spanish Club funds used toward offsetting those costs. She has some recommendations for interested students who would like to try to raise some money.

Other than the Spanish Club’s account, the loss of the district’s affiliation is not a monetary loss.

“I will be traveling with the EF tour company which is probably the most renowned educational tour company in the world,” Rozanski said. “Many teachers throughout the country take them and many do not go through their school districts. The company provides insurance anyway. The school district also does not and never has funded one cent of any of my trips abroad.”

Part of the idea of advertising the trip and holding a meeting more than a year ahead of time is to give individuals and families time to get the money together.

“It is important to note this is a tour for students; adults can go, but it is not a tour just for adults and expectations will still need to be held by any adults who go even if they are not chaperones,” Rozanski said. “All adults will also have a background check done by the tour company.”

All interested students and families are encouraged to attend the Tuesday meeting.

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