by Aboya Omot
This past week we had our Global to Local Parent meeting. This was the first official meeting between the students, their parents and the teachers which was really exciting.
Our agenda consisted of greetings and introductions, reiteration of our program and what we are trying to accomplish, end goals of the trip, going over our itinerary, signing of the contract, and a Q & A.
After formally introducing themselves to the parents, Mrs. Mac and Mrs. Hesse proceeded to give the details on the actual program and some of the service work we would be doing there. They also talked about how the students would come back to our local community with their newly acquired skills and lead community impact projects. We then went over what a typical day in Ecuador would look like from day to night followed by signing of the contract.
During our Q & A, safety was probably the biggest concern for parents. But rest assured, Mrs. Hesse and Mrs. Mac put those concerns to rest. They made sure to have a reasonable chaperone to student ratio to ensure the safety of the students. Letting your child go out of the country is surely a scary experience but they made sure that we would be placed in safe hands.
A couple of parents left a few comments on their feelings about the trip. Julia Goings-Perrot, Elise’s mother, said she has no concerns for the trip since she finds Excelsior trustworthy. She also said, “I very much appreciate the opportunity for our kids to go. I wish I could go”. Many other parents echoed that and also said that they wished they were given this opportunity in high school.
Overall the meeting went really well. Any concerns were addressed and taken care of. Everyone left the meeting with nothing but anticipation for our upcoming trip!
globaltolocal 