Students, Teachers Look Forward

To Summer Vacation

By Andrew Rote

It’s the end of May, and as the school year is coming to its conclusion, students are not looking forward to finals. However, they are looking forward to vacation.

Summer vacation is the time when students and teachers get a break from the stresses of school life and spend the time however they want. There are as many different ways to spend vacations as there are people and places in the world.

Right after school ends, freshman Megan Steuer is going to Bermuda with her family. Vacations like this seem to be more popular than site-seeing vacations when it comes to taking time away from school.

According to springbreaktravel.com, relaxation spots are most popular. They include the Bahamas, Cancun, Jamaica, Nassau, Panama City, Daytona, South Beach, and Cocoa Beach.

Charles Rosentel, a sophomore, is taking a load off in Bermuda as well. He will be on a cruise for one week.

“I am looking forward to the cruise and no school,” he says.

Right when school ends, freshman Michelle Grimaldi will be sunbathing on the beaches in Florida. Also enjoying the beaches will be sophomore Bryan Kotwicki who is visiting North Carolina in July.

Sophomore Lauri Manion is going with her family on their annual trip to Maine. She is leaving shortly after school ends and is looking forward to spending time on the beaches and going shopping.

Though it seems that relaxing vacations are the more popular way to spend the summer, there are people who are spending their summers in different ways.

Sophomore David Rod will be working at a ranch in New Mexico. He is traveling there in July with the Boy Scouts. At the scout range, there is some of the best hiking and some of the best camping ground in the country. He will be working with cattle, horses, and buffalo, as well as other animals.

Sophomore Andrew Lysaght will also be traveling with the scouts in August. He is looking forward to swimming with the fish on the week-long scuba diving trip to a sea base in the Florida Keys.

Kristin Ryan, a freshman, has a summer full of plans. First is work camp in New Hampshire. She is going with members of her church, made up of mostly high school students. In July, she is off to a summer camp course in psychology. Once that’s over, band camp comes in August.

Dan Parks, a sophomore, is touring Spain with his family right after school ends. “I’m looking forward to getting away from school,” he says.

Heather Page, a freshman, along with sophomore Rebecca Stephens, will be going to Rhode Island in July. They are going to color guard camp where they will practice routines and dances.

Students aren’t the only people taking a break. Teachers are anxious to take time off as well. Mary Gratt, one of the Spanish teachers, is visiting Italy for a few weeks in July. Along with her will be three other teachers who work at the high school.

The teachers will be renting an apartment in Tuscany and look forward to learning as well as having fun.

Carol Lucas, an English teacher, is leaving school and heading straight for Bonaire, a small island off the coast of Venezuela. Bonaire is noted for scuba diving and snorkeling. She is spending time there with some friends.

“My goal there is to swim with the fish three times a day and read a book a day,” Miss Lucas says as she anxiously awaits her trip. She is also traveling to Lake Tahoe in California and will be hiking in Nevada.

History teacher Gwen Parks is going to Thailand with a friend. They are both taking their daughters for eight days in July. When they arrive in Bangkok, they will be exploring the culture and visiting places they have never been.

She is looking to broaden her horizons as well as her daughter’s. The trip will also help Mrs Parks in teaching her unit on Asian-Americans.

Doug Russell, a special education teacher, is going to Martha’s Vineyard with his family for a week in July. While relaxing, Mr Russell will be clamming, canoeing, and biking.

Whether it’s a relaxing, site-seeing, or working vacation, travel guides provide tips that could help tourists. The most common suggestion is to pack as lightly as possible. If laundering is possible, try to take fewer clothes.

According to the Travel Kiosk online, jeans should not be taken on trips if possible. They weigh more than most pants and take long to dry. Old clothing that could be thrown away is recommended in order to leave room for souvenirs or anything else that could be brought back home. Another object it suggests to bring is a plastic raincoat that could be worn in any weather.

Students as well as teachers will definitely enjoy their time off. That is, until the “Back to school” signs start showing up again.

(Andrew Rote is a sophomore journalism student at Newtown High School, who contributes regularly to the school’s paper, The Hawkeye.)