Corsicana —
Nine Frost High School students are going to take the trip of a lifetime next summer to New York City, but first, they have to pay for it.
The trip is the first of its kind in Frost, a small school district where big trips out of state aren’t typical. It’s designed to introduce the students to arts and culture they aren’t going to find in Navarro County, or even in Texas, according to teacher Brett Schmidt.
“It will be in June and we’re going to see at least one Broadway show, the ballet, several museums — the Museum of Natural History, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art,” Schmidt explained. “We’ll see the Empire State Building, Central Park and the financial district and see the 9/11 memorial, and we’re going to prepare a flash mob in Central Park and Grand Central Station.”
Schmidt is working on her master’s degree in drama, and she hopes to use the students in a research project. The kids will be asked to answer a 100-question test before they leave, and then they will take it after they return, as well, to see what they’ve absorbed.
The district started with 23 students, but in order to qualify the students have to remain on the A/B honor roll, and can’t get into any disciplinary trouble. Although they started the year with 23 eager students, it’s now down to nine, Schmidt said.
“I’ve got a really good group of kids, and it just happens to be all girls, which is a blessing,” she said. “It was a combination of grades, not attending the parent meeting, and just this and that. A couple of them just told me they don’t want to get on that plane, after all. They just changed their minds.”
In addition to the nine students, nine sponsors have also signed up to accompany the group, so there will be no shortage of chaperones.
The students will be able to update everyone back home on their adventures through an on-line blog with photos and write-ups of each day’s activities. The trip will last five days and four nights.
In order to raise money for the trip, the students in Frost are hosting a Variety Show at 7 p.m. Dec. 15 in the Frost Auditorium. It will feature singing, dancing, a skit, a magic act, a handbell choir and more. The Collin Street Bakery is donating cookies and there will also be punch, hot chocolate and coffee. The cost for admission is $10 for adults, $5 for anyone younger than 18.
In the spring, they’re going to host a Redneck Day with a washer tossing and horseshoe pitching contests, Schmidt said.
Assuming they can raise the funds, Schmidt would like to make it an annual tradition for the best students of Frost each summer.
“I’m already thinking of places I can take then next year,” she said. “San Francisco, New England with Boston and Philadelphia, Chicago, maybe even Europe,” she said. “My main thesis statement is that study abroad is 100 percent necessary because it helps them grow and mature while they’re still a kid. It helps them realize there’s more to the world than just Frost or Corsicana. None of the students have ever been (to New York.) Many of our students rarely even go to Dallas.”
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Janet Jacobs may be reached via e-mail at jjacobs@corsicanadailysun.com. Want to “sound off” to this article? E-mail: Soundoff@corsicanadailysun.com
If you go: In order to raise money for the trip, the students in Frost are hosting a Variety Show at 7 p.m. Dec. 15 in the Frost Auditorium. It will feature singing, dancing, a skit, a magic act, a handbell choir and more. The Collin Street Bakery is donating cookies and there will also be punch, hot chocolate and coffee. The cost for admission is $10 for adults, $5 for anyone younger than 18.
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