Not Just a Trip to Paris: How TSS Connects Travel to Learning

By: Jennifer Mattingley & Lucas Hommel | TSS High School Student & Parent

At The Sycamore School (TSS), learning doesn’t stop when students leave the classroom. 

Over spring break 2025, a group of our high schoolers, staff, and parents traded classrooms for cobblestone streets as they set off on a cultural adventure in Paris, France. From sampling French pastries and dining at local restaurants to wandering world-famous museums and landmarks, students got a true taste of life in the City of Light. 

Their days were packed with tours, history, art, and a little shopping along the way. But the biggest takeaway was the chance to immerse themselves in another culture, side by side with their peers and families.

To share this unforgettable experience, Jenny (TSS Parent) teamed up with her son, Lucas, to co-write about their experience on the trip. Here’s their story!

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In April, I had the pleasure (?!) of chaperoning the TSS high school trip to Paris. It was everything Lucas and I hoped for – exhausting, fun, and educational, with a lot of good food and laughs along the way. When asked to write about our trip, I got the usual teen grunt from Lucas, so I interviewed him over email (because email is just a longer form of texting, which is a preferred teen method of communication!). His answers in his own words are below:

“TSS students traveled to Paris for a school trip to learn more about foreign countries and their culture. We were in Paris for 5 days total. The types of things we did in Paris included going around for about 8 hours a day looking at landmarks like the Eiffel Tower. We also did about eight miles of walking every single day. [editor’s note: it was more like six]

My favorite thing that I saw on the trip was the sparkling lights on the Eiffel Tower.

One thing that I learned during the trip that I didn’t know before is that there is a lot of American food everywhere. For example, you could get a burger at a lot of places. And, I didn’t practice my French that much when we were there because most people knew English and would respond in English. There was only one person I encountered who didn’t know English. But, I was not very surprised how many French words I knew because I have been taking French class for 2 years and learned about 1000 French words.

I would recommend that students and teachers go on international spring break trips because they are very fun, and you can learn about that country’s culture and history.”

My first thought on reading his answers… “wow, he has learned a lot through TSS because he is using punctuation and full sentences.” The second is that he did learn something and take in the experience on that trip to Paris. 

My takeaway from chaperoning was how amazing it was to see how open to experiences the kids were and how self-sufficient they’ve become. They clearly knew how to approach this experience because of the weekly out-of-the-classroom experiences and field trips they take at TSS. 

And it was also a chance to see Lucas tackle a new city, spend six full days interacting with other kids and adults, and for me to get a chance to navigate a totally new experience with him. 

Maybe he can tackle the world beyond high school after all…with the help of TSS, of course! 

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These trips aren’t just vacations, they are an extension of our personalized, experiential learning model. By stepping outside the classroom, students connect what they’ve learned to the wider world while growing through new cultural, academic, and social experiences. They offer students meaningful ways to use their free time that don’t revolve around screens, but instead around building relationships, problem-solving in real-world contexts, and engaging directly with their environment. 

With support from parents and staff chaperones, each journey outside the country becomes a shared opportunity for active learning and community building. 

Our upcoming 2026 spring break trip to Belize combines community service with hands-on learning. We partner with Todd Rimkus of Marymount and his nonprofit Hawksbill Hope, to support a local community in Belize. Students will stay at Gales Point Wildlife Sanctuary, a small Kriol community in Belize that includes a manatee reserve. Students will partner with the local community to repair and paint houses. They will have the opportunity to explore the cove and observe plants, animals, and sea life on the reserve. Students will also take day trips to explore different parts of Belize including a farm in the jungle and a reserve for injured wildlife, ending in a cave tubing adventure. These hands-on opportunities can go far in deepening their cultural and scientific understanding of the world.

It’s one more way we bring learning to life at TSS. Our curriculum is built to help students see their impact on the larger community, build empathy for others, and form strong peer connections—skills that last well after they return home.