Students Return from Service-Learning Trip to Peru

Led by Upper School Spanish teacher Kate Kerekes, eight GPS students embarked on a service-learning trip to Peru last month. From marveling at the wonders of Machu Picchu to making papier-mâché bins for an ecological preschool, the students explored many different terrains.  

“We were able to learn about so much of the [Peruvian] culture as well as see one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World,” said Kerekes. In addition to sight-seeing and cultural immersion, Kerekes noted the many cross-curricular activities the girls experienced such as: learning about the art and history of the Incas; exploring the catacombs; learning about the predominant religions of the country.

While practicing Spanish whenever possible, the girls also had the opportunity to work with Yachay Wasi Ollantaytambo a local preschool in Ollantaytambo, Peru.The pre-school,built from reclaimed materials, has a waste-nothing philosophy that the girls got to experience firsthand. The girls assisted with several of the projects at Yachay Wasi, including:

 

- building doors from reclaimed wood (a GPS girl-led project)

- cutting and sanding blocks from reclaimed wood beams for the teachers and students to use in classrooms

-organizing the workshop

- creating papier-mâché bins from recycled material for teachers' classrooms

- digging up walkways and roads to make them more accessible by the families and children

- assisting in gardens

The girls also enjoyed playing games and singing with the preschoolers and teaching them a few basic English phrases.