MKA's Global Programs Presents New Spring Break Opportunities

What do France, Taiwan and Tennessee have in common? They are all spring break destinations for Montclair Kimberley Academy students, offered as part of the school's burgeoning Global Programs initiative; dedicated to realizing its Mission to engage each student intellectually and personally with the world through immersion experiences.

MKA Middle and Upper School students have long travelled to France for foreign language trips, but this year's Upper School trip offers a new focus. In late February, eight French 10th graders from Centre Madeline Danielou, a private school in the suburbs of Paris, will join the MKA community for ten days, living with host families, attending MKA classes and visiting the sights of New York City. On March 10, ten MKA French students will then travel to Reuil to stay at the homes of those exchange students, to attend three days of class at their school and to tour Paris with their new families, giving them for the first time a true language immersion experience.

Four MKA Upper School students studying Mandarin Chinese will also be able to experience Chinese culture, modern history and language first-hand as they travel to Taiwan. In addition to visiting cultural and religious sites, students will also have the opportunity to visit both an urban and rural private school , where they will shadow local students. This immersive trip will provide students with unusual access to the "real life" experience of another culture, as well as opportunities to practice their developing language skills.

There can be few experiences as "hands-on" in promoting personal engagement with the world as those offered by community service initiatives, and each year, MKA's Global Programs also offers a trip for students interested in giving back to a community. These trips alternate between domestic and Latin American sites, and this year's trip is taking twenty-three MKA students to a Habitat for Humanity Build in Tennessee, where students will spend ten days working on constructing homes for the local population.