Page 23 - NJC Magazine Spring 2017

December 21, 2016
This month, ten of our students and two members of faculty travelled to the International School of Brussels which was hosting the Fall New European Speech Debate and Acting (NESDA) competitions. For many of our students, this was the first time they had competed in such performance activities as duet acting, original oratory, oral interpretation of a piece of literature, debate and impromptu speech. We are very proud to say that two students made it to the semi- finals in duet acting, one of whom also made it to the semi-finals in oral interpretation of literature, one of our duos won their impromptu debate and one of our students emerged with the gold medal in original oratory! His speech about ‘How to Make America Great Again’ was outstanding and also earned him the student vote for that category by an overwhelming margin! Congratulations to all of the participants for their participation in this unique and exciting competition. On December 7th, the full school spent the day in Geneva visiting the United Nations European Headquarters as well as the Red Cross/Red Crescent museum. It is important for our students to understand the origins of these organizations in order to appreciate how Europe has tried to find peace on its continent after the devastation of World War I and World War II. The Red Cross, founded by Henry Dunant, a Swiss citizen who simply took the Swiss flag and reversed the colours to create this humanitarian organization’s flag, was also the recipient of the very first Nobel Peace Prize. After tours of both of these organizations located in this impressive Swiss city, several students and staff then made their way to the picturesque town of Montreux, the city made famous by its annual jazz/music festival and of course by the song ‘Smoke on the Water’. Montreux hosts
an annual Christmas market, and our students were able to enjoy the many kiosks selling food and beverages as well as the varied options for Christmas gift shoppers.
April 6, 2017
In late February, a group of students accompanied by staff went on our Renaissance trip to Florence, Italy. As usual, our students were captivated by what this incredible city has to offer: Michaelangelo’s David, the Uffizi Museum, the Pitti Palace, the Duomo, not to mention the leather market! Our guides were outstanding and were very skilled at bringing this marvelous city’s history to life for our students.
In mid-March, sixteen students were accompanied by staff to St. Petersburg, Russia for the annual Model United Nations conference in this spectacular city. In addition to the conference, students had an opportunity to visit the Hermitage, the Winter and Summer Palaces and to see an authentic Russian ballet among other highlights.
There have been several academic day trips as well including three trips to hear guest speakers through the Graduate Institute of Geneva (former Canadian Deputy Prime Minister, John Manley, headlined one of these presentations) and Mme Bergeron-Laliberté’s class also went to Bern recently for the Francophonie week to see the movie “Zachary Richard, toujours batailleur” and to meet its director, Phil Comeau.
As I write this letter to you, thirty- eight students are on our Classical Civilizations trip through Italy and Greece, which our students affectionately refer to as ‘Gritaly’, while sixteen other students participate on service trips in Portugal. Twelve of those sixteen are working with Habitat For Humanity in Braga, Portugal in the north of the country, while four others
are with me in Lisbon working with a similar organization called Building the Future (through a parent company called ImpacTrip).The two service trip teams will also visit Lisbon and the Algarve in the second week of their trip following their work restoring and renovating homes for impoverished families in these two locations.
Once our Easter trips conclude and we return to Neuchâtel for the final two months of the school year, there will be two school trips remaining: our second NESDA (New European Speech Debate and Acting Competition) tournament which will see ten of our students head to Barcelona, Spain with their coaches. Students must participate in a minimum of two of the five possible events which include debate, duet acting, oral interpretation of a piece of literature, original oratory, and impromptu speaking.
Then, our final trip of the year is our full school trip to Normandy in late May. Students will visit the beaches of the D-Day invasion, as well as the Juno Beach Center. While in Normandy, we will also see the famous Bayeux Tapestry and of course Mont St. Michel. The trip includes a visit to the charming town of Honfleur, made famous by the Impressionist artist Monet. It is also where the Seine River meets the Atlantic Ocean making for a picturesque resort town.
Salutations cordiales,
William S. Boyer
Head of School
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