Fall Excursion to Venice Review
October 19, 2023
A group of 77 students and 8 staff returned Sunday from what is said to have been a “fabulous” fall excursion to Venice.
“The weather was perfect, the city was beautiful, everything was planned meticulously thanks to Kevin (Fox), and the kids were really lovely,” said the Dean of Students and wife of Kevin, Laura Fox.
“Venice is an iconic city and it felt surreal at times to be floating along the grand canal with our students. It made me realize how lucky we are to work here and how lucky everyone is that the school provides these experiences. The kids often communicated to me that they felt very fortunate.”
Mr. Kevin Fox, the excursion coordinator, flawlessly executed—with the help of the entire staff—a great deal of logistical coordination to pull off another successful excursion for a large group. Weeks prior to the excursion, the 77 students who signed up to participate—included in the tuition of boarding students—chose between a number of activities in and around Venice daily based on their interest level. Mr. Fox then spent weeks placing students into activity groups and planning the various activities, which changed twice daily in the morning and then again in the afternoon following lunch. At all times, there were four different groups of students with at least two staff members spread throughout the city as they visited museums, cathedrals, monuments, and neighborhoods, or were on walking tours.
“We were like a well-oiled machine. We just know each other so well,” said Mrs. Fox, of the entire staff on the excursion which included resident assistants Abby, Arabella, Ali, Nick, Matt, and Tom Henry.
Following activities, the groups would reconvene for dinner together and then would have the evening option to stay on the island of Lido (where the hotel was) or join a group that took the ferry back over to Venice.
On Saturday afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Fox took 21 students for a 2-hour bike ride around the island, which included a stop at the beach for a swim.
“There were several moments as the sun was setting and we were all riding and laughing with our students that I thought to myself “I am going to remember this moment for the rest of my life,” said Mrs. Fox. “It was really special.”