Latin and Visual Art Students Travel to Italy!

In February 2025 during Mid-Winter Break, Bear Creek Latin and visual arts students traveled to Italy with Mrs. Osborn, Mrs. Scrivner, and Mr. Schuldt, for an immersive tour of its ancient cities, culture, arts, and history.

The 27 students began their journey in Rome with visits to Saint Peter's Basilica, the Colosseum, and the Roman Forum. Of course, they stopped for gelato by the Trevi Fountain before heading to their second destination, Florence.

In Florence, students read Latin manuscripts at the Museo Nazionale di San Marco Library, sketched and climbed the Duomo, saw the Santa Maria del Fiore, and enjoyed a watercolor workshop at the Accademia del Giglio.

A highlight of the trip included a cooking tour to Tuscany, where students learned about Tuscan cuisine and its history, shopped for ingredients at a local market, and learned to cook a traditional meal to share entirely from scratch.

Next, students traveled further north to Ravenna, enjoying mosaic workshops and an amazing guided tour of Ravenna's historic churches, before reaching their final destination: Venice.

In Venice, a highlight for Latin students was a visit to Saint Mark's Basilica, where they read Latin manuscripts on site, surrounded by the glow of golden mosaic walls.

Visual art students sketched at the Rialto Bridge, taking in the waterway merchants, seagulls overhead, and hustle and bustle of life in the city.

As the trip came to an end, the students rode gondolas through the famous canals and participated in a Venetian mask-making workshop. Traveling with classmates to sites only read about in books and seeing firsthand the very places discussed in class was a remarkable way to spend Mid-Winter Break. It was a trip worth remembering!

Parents and students can see the full list of upcoming academic trips planned for the next several years and also check out photos from all the 2024 – 2025 Upper School trips on Vidigami.

About Our Trip Leaders

Trinity Osborn, Fine Arts Department Chair and studio art teacher, is a veteran educator and seasoned chaperone. Her travels have taken her to five continents and various countries. Her top five favorites include Korea, Australia, Egypt, New Zealand, and Italy. Mrs. Osborn is most excited about the opportunities that travel creates for our students. Experiencing a culture in first person has wonderful applications that enhance how we view humanity, grow us in compassion, and broaden our awareness of the world around us.

 

​Mark Schuldt, Upper School history teacher, brings extensive experience in European travel, both personally and as a chaperone. He recalls the lasting impact of his own student travels, holding a real medieval book in Germany—the weighted wooden binding, the textured leather wrapping, and the heft of painted parchment pages. History comes alive when experienced through immersion. While not all students grow up to be history teachers, all people can become historians when their hearts and imaginations are stocked full of first-hand stories and experiences that make the world around them richer and more vivid. 

 

​Marianne Scrivner, Upper School Latin teacher, has been teaching Latin at The Bear Creek School for six years and has traveled internationally several times. She is confident that international travel expands student learning and worldview in vital ways that cannot be replicated in the classroom. She is excited for students to see the continued use of Latin as well as its evolution into Italian and the impact it has had on the arts.