On June 1, parents and guardians visited campus to “travel around the world” with Class VI students under the graduation tent on McLeod field. After a year filled with quarantine, Covid restrictions, and little to no travel, the culminating interdisciplinary ‘Round the World project was quite literally a breath of fresh air. Students set up computers and projects at tables on the perimeter of the tent and shared the stories of their “travels” to distant lands.
Geography teacher Melissa Lyons explained the relevance of RTW to the broader student experience at Nobles. “We see RTW as the first step of the Nobles Excel experience,” said Lyons. “EXCEL programs push Nobles students to serve their communities, pursue a passion, travel to and learn in new places and explore an idea or study in a different country or community. This year we added a new step where students could choose a Nobles community service trip to research as a way to get them excited about future travels with the EXCEL program. We hope students take these newfound skills and apply what they learned to make the world a better place. RTW is important now more than ever, as our children face an increasingly divided world. It is our hope that this is simply the start of a long journey of exploring and understanding the world.”
Students spent six weeks working on the project in their geography and modern language classes, compiling work from both subjects into one digital book for their final presentation. Each project demonstrated creative ingenuity through the exploration of distant countries and cultures. The research and writing demonstrated an impressive command of critical organizational skills, and the final product was a wonderful testament to all of their hard work.
