Bearden has long encouraged students to get out of Knoxville and learn about the world’s many perspectives. Teachers Mrs. Victoria May and Mrs. Anna Graham are organizing separate trips to Europe for students to do just that.

These trips were made possible by an organization called Education First.

Mrs. May, an art teacher, is organizing a trip to Italy this coming March during Spring Break. Students can return to school after this trip with a great educational experience that they can even earn a college credit for.

“[Students] will be able to see the art, architecture, and history that they’ve studied about in school, in person,” Mrs. May said. “They will get to experience another culture and way of living. They will get to try new food like real Italian pizza, gelato, and many other local dishes. They will get to hear – and maybe speak – some Italian.

“And on top of all that, they get to do things they may never have done before with people they are getting to know for the first time.”

Mrs. Graham, an English teacher, is taking a group of students to Italy, Switzerland, and Germany in the summer of 2020.

“While in Germany, [students] will get to take a tour of Dachau, one of the concentration camps, as well as a bike tour around the city of Munich,” Mrs. Graham said in an interview with BBN News. “We will get to go up one of the Alps in Switzerland while we’re there, and then while we are in Italy, we will be going to Venice.”

For details about signing up for the Italy trip, see Mrs. May in Room 332. And for more information about Mrs. Graham’s trip, pick up a brochure from posters in the hall, or stop by Room 329 for the informational meeting on Thursday at 5:30.