Vive la France! - Help Underprivileged Students Have a Parisien Experience!

The Foreign Language Department at the Frederick Douglass Academy has planned a trip to Paris. The students selected for this once-in-a lifetime trip will be investigating cultural and historical connections between the United States and France. The trip will take place from April 20 to 27, 2005, during spring break, and the students are participants in the French and social-studies classes. The ten students chosen are delegated as ambassadors of the Foreign Language and Social Studies Departments with the responsibilities to establish associations and parallels between France and the United States. In order for students to benefit fully from the educational experience, they must complete research assignments in preparation for the trip, and keep a daily journal and complete other meaningful assignments during the trip itself. Upon return, the students will be required to present travel-based projects to their classes and the faculty. Some specific sites on the itinerary include the Louvre Museum, the Cathedral of Notre Dame, Chateau de Versailles, Caen Memorial, nearby Normandy, and other important historical places. There are also tentative plans to visit a high school in Paris. We would be extremely grateful if some generous donors could help our students defray some of their expenses during this trip. Our students come from economically underprivileged backgrounds, and they will have difficulty getting the most from their trip without some financial help. In particular, we are requesting funding to purchase passes to the Paris Metro subway system for all the students, so that they can easily see as much of this wonderful city as possible. (Riding the subway will also teach them about public transportation in France and how it differs from our own.) We are also hoping to obtain enough funds to help us pay for modest lunches each day. These requests are relatively inexpensive, but they would mean a lot to the students and help them focus on the excitement and learning involved in the trip rather than worrying about costs. Thank you so much for considering helping us.