For many students, March break is a welcome respite from the busy-ness of School life, and relaxing at home, with family, feels just right. For some students, spring break means an opportunity for travel and excitement with fellow students committed to music, service, or outdoor adventure.
Next month, 28 students and eight Milton adults will fly to South Africa for 17 days of jazz music, performance, and connecting with local student-musicians. This is the tenth visit to South Africa by Milton’s Jazz Program. Over those years, Milton musicians have played music in remarkable concert venues and with other young people in school classrooms. In addition, over the ten years, they have delivered over $135,000 in donated instruments and learning materials. Through immersing themselves in homestays, concerts, museum tours, school visits, festivals and traditional South African celebrations, Milton’s jazz students return home musically and culturally enriched.
Traveling south for the annual community service trip, 20 students will head to Belize where they will work at an island school in Caye Caulker—helping to rebuild Ocean Academy, the area’s only high school, and tutoring local students. Milton students will also join Ocean Academy students in extracurricular and cultural activities—experiencing local fare and tradition; enjoying fun, aquatic excursions; and learning about the endangered mangrove ecosystem.
For eight days, nine climbing enthusiasts escape the cold weather and travel west to Joshua Tree National Park, Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, and Valley Of Fire State Park with Milton’s Outdoor Program. With rock climbing and hiking on the agenda, students will travel through Las Vegas, the Mojave Desert, and sections of the old Route 66 to explore the western canyons.
