Our Difference

Global Citizens

2019-2020 Trips

Trip programs during Spring Break 2020 are offered to Upper School students, grades 9 to 12, to the following countries:
  • Iceland: Interdisciplinary Science (Astronomy and Geology)
  • Senegal: Cultural Immersion-Exchange/Language-Based
  • Taiwan: Ceramics and the Arts, Art History, Local Farming, Ecology
  • Rome, Italy: Cultural Immersion, Emphasis on History and Latin
  • Nepal (only for grades 10-12): Social Entrepreneurship, South China history and heritage
Learn more about these trips here. 

Past Trips

Since 2010, SCH has taken over 700 students on trips abroad. 30 faculty leaders have chaperoned trips abroad.
 
Countries traveled: Cambodia (2013, 2016, 2019), Canada (2013, 2016), China (2018, 2019), Cuba (2016), Denmark (2014), Ecuador/Galápagos (2014, 2018), Ethiopia (2013), France (2010, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2019), Iceland (2017), India (2019), Ireland (2017), Italy (2012, 2014, 2016), México (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016), New Zealand (2014), Peru (2015, 2019), Russia (2013), Senegal (2011, 2013, 2015), South Africa (2018), Spain (2011, 2013), Thailand (2015), and United Arab Emirates (2011).

Mission Statement

The Global Travel Program challenges students to think critically about their roles as global citizens in an increasingly interconnected world. Through our trips abroad, students gain a deeper understanding of new people, places, and cultures through language and cultural immersion and exchanges, meaningful service-learning experiences, and field research and experiential study.
 
We design trips that build international partnerships, enrich and extend students’ curricular studies and awareness of global issues, and provide experiences beyond those available to students on campus.

Global Travel Program Preparation

 
SCH’s pre-departure curriculum begins nine months before students even board a plane. Our standard pre-departure curriculum allows students to prepare for, perform, and reflect on their travel experiences abroad. For some trips, students will be required to complete summer readings or viewings. Students and parents/guardians are required to sign a trip-specific syllabus outlining student expectations and the learning goals of the curriculum. This curriculum includes:
  • Preparatory evening meetings with enrolled students and their families.
  • Mandatory class sessions that are designed to develop students’ understanding of one’s own cultural norms and expectations, as well as the cultural norms and expectations of the host culture, and to develop general knowledge of the country as well as regions that will be visited.
  • Mandatory Student Academic Support (SAS)/lunch sessions on savvy traveling, safety precautions, and program preparation (e.g., reviewing itineraries, packing lists, etc.).
  • If possible, students will participate in virtual exchanges (via Skype) with members of communities where we will be traveling.
  • After the trip, students will share their experiences with members of the SCH community.
  • For trips with a service-learning focus, students will complete community service in Philadelphia.


~ Grace Yang, Class of 2018

“I never knew how poor my eyesight was, until I went to the eye doctor in the summer of 2015. I read what I perceived; what the letters looked like to me. However, it was when I put on my first pair of glasses that the O’s turned into C’s and the B’s turned into E’s. I realized, ‘Wow, I really could not see clearly!’ The same realization occurred when I traveled to Peru the following fall. I looked into a new lens and my eyes opened to new adventures, food, cultures, and people who became great friends. The opportunity to travel to a foreign country not only expanded my perception of the world we live in, but also my perception of who I am. I believe that this experience taught me how to be content and appreciate the little things in my life. It was an experience I will always remember and will continue to inspire me every day.”

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