Bon Voyage, Les Elèves!

October 27, 2017

Traveling abroad and being able to learn in another country is something most people wish to have in their lifetimes.

From spending a semester overseas to heading to the beach for vacation, traveling to a new place is always a new, fascinating learning experience.

Here at Franklin Regional, learning abroad programs and trips overseas are offered to students who wish to experience new cultures and people outside of the United States.

From the Rotary Interact Student Exchange program to offered trips to different countries, students who wish to see the world are given the opportunity here through the school.

This past June, students chaperoned by social studies teacher Tony Bartolotta and middle school Spanish teacher Jeff Poole were led on a trip around France and various cities and countrysides.

Landing in Paris and then traveling to the city of Nice, the students began their tour around France, which lasted for 12 days.

“The trip was highly recommended to me by Madame Studer,” said junior Nina Huczko when asked about what prompted her to sign up for the tour. “She spoke highly of it, and made the whole thing sound like so much fun.” Through the tour company EF Tours, the Franklin Regional students were grouped together with other visiting tour groups from around the country to learn about the history and cultures of France.

Months of planning and meetings between teachers and parents went into making the trip a success, all of which began two years prior in the 2014- 2015 school year.

“The whole thing was originally planned by Madame Tonet-Berlin,” said Bartolotta. “It was a trip for French students who wanted to learn about the country and language they were learning about in school.”

Throughout the tour, the group stayed in multiple towns and cities, both small and large, as they made their way around the country.

“We started in the south of France and then every few days we would make our way north until we reached Paris, and then Normandy,” said junior Ally Gilmore. “I fell in love with Nice and Normandy while on the trip. The history and art in those places was amazing, and it was an experience to see and visit those places in person.” According to, trips like these are offered to students at Franklin every two years, and anyone can enroll.

While the trip this past summer was only in France, tours in Spain, Italy, and France are offered to anyone who wishes to experience more of Europe.

“For someone who’s been to these places and seen the culture and history, and teaches about all of it in class everyday, my favorite part of the tours is watching others, like these students, learn and experience the rich history of Europe,” said Bartolotta. “There’s so much history in Europe that there’s always going to be something for everyone to enjoy.”

For upcoming students wishing to partake in future trips abroad, Bartolotta and Rossi are planning an upcoming tour to Europe in the summer of 2018.