We arrived back in San Francisco, safe and sound, late in the afternoon on Monday. One last adventure to recap — the museums in Madrid.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Upon arrival in Madrid we spent not a moment sitting down. We dedicated a majority of our first day to exploring the works both classical and modern at the two most famous museums in Spain, The Prada and The Reina Sofia. Our guide Frederico, lead us between the two and was delightfully energetic, using his great sense of humor and knowledge to keep our undivided attention at all times. Naturally, the Prada being the first visited of the two was much more classically themed. Artists included El Greco, Francisco Goya, and Diego Velasquez. As we viewed the pieces chronologically it became clear that as Goya grew older, he became more senile and began to lose his grip on reality. In his later years he had become so involved in his work that he painted everything he saw in his dreams and felt, which gave rise to modern art as we know it. Moving on to the Prada, our group took a first hand look at the paintings of Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali. One of the main themes displayed was the concept of surrealism which was forged from the rising popularity of the film industry. The first grouping of paintings we viewed was a set of the early works of Salvador Dali that consistently featured his sister. And as we progressed, it was seen that his paintings became more unreal. The last piece we viewed as a group was Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica,” a portrayal of the Spanish government’s defiling of the Basque people in 1937. Francisco Franco had hired German bomber pilots to eliminate the culture in Northern Spain through the murder of their woman and children. Picasso uses four woman being tormented with the eye of God watching from above to expose the cruelty of this attack. It is considered to be the the greatest piece of modern art from the 20th century. It was very coo.

-Connor McKeon ’13 and Katy Stableford ’13

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Our visit to Colegio Maria del Valle in Sevilla has been the highlight of the trip so far. Simon, Ashley and Elio’s write about the day below. See the photos and watch our very own Michael Keehan perform for everyone.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Yesterday we got on our bus and drove to Colegio Maria del Valle. We were taken to the theater and split up into smaller groups to be taken on tours around the school by students. After the tour we went to classes where we could meet our new Spanish friends and practice our spanish speaking skills. Class was followed by a long break, which gave us more time to socialize. During the break there were many activities to do such as soccer, baseball, volleyball, music, dancing, basketball, and just hanging out. Tables covered in food were then layed out for us to have for lunch. The food was new to us and very delicious. After our lunch we climbed back onto the bus and headed to the hotel to unwind and enjoy some free time in the downtown of Sevilla. All of us made sure to clean up during our break because we had to get ready to be picked up by the families of the Spanish students we had met earlier as we were going to their homes for dinner. We were split into partners and paired with a Spanish family. My partner was Robeil and our family took us to there house and fed us very well. We watched soccer with them during our dinner and used our Spanish to explain who we are and what our lives are like in America. Our friend had two sisters that are both in college. They were very excited to meet us and asked us a ton of questions. The family took Robeil and I on a tour of the city because they felt we hadn’t seen enough of Sevilla. They took us to a hill where we could see all of Sevilla. It was an amazing vista. They brought us back to the house because the night was coming to an end. We exchanged gifts and talked a little more before leaving. I found out that both of the sisters knew my older brother and his friends because they were both at the school when my brother’s class from Stuart Hall came on the same trip. She was already friends with him on Facebook. The mother of the family and our friend drove us back to the school. At the school we all said our goodbyes to all of our newly found friends. We climbed onto the bus once more and waved to our Spanish friends from the windows as we drove off. I personally had a great day and was happy that I really got the chance to use the Spanish skills I have been working on for years. We all made new friends that we will remember for a very long time. This was certainly the best way to end our stay in the beautiful town of Sevilla.

Simon Ray Goldsmith – ’13

As we entered Colegio Maria del Valle we were warmly greeted by the students and a beautiful tile portrait of Madeline Sophie . The atmosphere was both warm and inviting; the students spoke both Spanish and English, we sang with them, and watched a presentation about the history of the town. During the welcoming two students preformed a flamenco dance for us. Throughout the day, I was entranced by the culture and I was able to use my Spanish skills to communicate with the spanish students. After we were split up into groups, we went on a tour of their beautiful campus. Walking through their wondrous halls gave me a true sense of attending the school. For lunch we had tapas and cake for dessert. Visiting Colegio de Maria del Valle was a very enriching and rewarding experience.

Ashley Latham – ’14

Yesterday, after an early morning wake up call and a hearty breakfast, we all packed on a bus and drove to Colegio Maria del Valle. This is our sister school in Sevilla, Spain. We were greeted warmly immediately, As we walked through the front doors to the auditorium, music was blaring and all of the students were clapping and cheering in anticipation of our arrival. When we sat down in the back of the room, the cheering ceased and some of the student body introduced us. We watched a powerpoint presentation about the city of Sevilla and we we’re all astounded by the beauty of the city. Two of the girls from the school then performed a traditional spanish flamenco dance. We split into small groups and went on a tour of the school. My group was paired with a few girls and a boy named Nico, who I thought was going to speak very limited English. As it turns out, he spoke very fluent English and had a Scottish accent that, “wasn’t as heavy as groundskeeper Willy, but was still an accent.” During the tour, we we’re bombarded by kids from the school, constantly coming up to us and saying hello. We then went to classes of about twenty students studying English and had a conversation with them about us and our life in America. They were all incredibly excited when they heard I owned a car. After a little more conversation, we broke from the formal classrooms and went outside to hang out. The weather and the complex were incredibly nice. A couple of my friends and I played an impromptu soccer game with some of the Spanish kids and, amazingly enough, we won! After playing soccer for a while, Connor, Andrew, and I went off to talk with the boys and girls who attended the school. They were all incredibly warm and friendly and I now understand why foreigners love Spain. We all gathered again and went to play baseball and take pictures. I have never taken so many pictures in my entire life. At night, Nico and I were paired with a Spanish family who took us around Sevilla. We spent a lot of time in the Centro Commercial, looking through all the shops. Afterwards, we went back to their house and met their family. The family invited their neighbors, who we had met previously, and had dinner. The food the mother made was delicious. We had all kinds of traditional Spanish food. We then exchanged gifts with their family and watched Nacho Libre in Spanish. We said our goodbyes to their family and drove back to the school. We got back on the bus and all of the people were waiving goodbye from the sidewalks. We arrived back at the hotel and crashed for the night. Meeting the kids at the school in Sevilla was an amazing experience and I’m sure that everyone on the trip would agree about the experience.

Elio Casinelli – ’14

As the Spain & France trip departure is closing in, students who are attending are getting excited. This travel opportunity only happens every other year with this being the second time. While we are in Spain & France, there will be tons of activities. The activities include visiting our international Sacred Heart schools, exploring cities, watching a professional soccer game, and much more. As well as exploring the cities, the faculty are encouraging students to exercise their foreign language skills. The students are eager for the adventure and have high expectations for this trip.

Personally for myself, Raymond Jiang ’12, I am most excited for the soccer match. I have never been to a professional soccer game, so I am pretty ecstatic about it, especially getting to watch one of the best teams in the world. Also, I want to practice speaking Spanish and see how much I have improved my skills. The reason why I want to go on this trip is because I want to have a new experience and go to a country where I have a general knowledge of it’s culture.

Salina Karmara ’14 from Convent is excited to eat the exquisite and gourmet food that we’ll be enjoying. She has never had authentic French and Spanish food so it will be a first time experience for her. Most importantly, she wants to shop and buy unique clothes and items that will remind her of her trip to these marvelous countries. The reason why she is going on this trip is because it is a great opportunity to visit foreign countries with her friends and make some new friends.

This hasn’t been the first time that Devin Harvey ’13 has attended a school trip overseas. Last year, he went with the school to Greece and had a marvelous time there. Devin has high expectations for this trip. Hr is most excited to see Barcelona, the most “devastating” soccer teams in the world play against Madrid Athletico. While having big expectations, he also has to conquer one of his biggest fears, flying. He is terrified of flying and has only gone outside the country twice, making him inexperienced with long-term flights.

Robeil Andebrhan ’13 wants to go on this trip because he also wants to watch his favorite soccer team, Barcelona, play. He also is excited to see the international schools because he wants to see if they have the same goals and criteria that our school upholds. He has learned much about the culture of Spain and France but never had the opportunity to actualy go, so when he heard about the opportunity to travel, he had to take it up. His biggest expectation of this trip is having fun. He wants a break from the rigorous school hours and just have fun with his friends. He hopes that throughout the trip, he will mostly be speaking Spanish to challenge his skill level.

Kimmy Pace ’13 is exhilarated about visiting the sister schools abroad. She is especially excited because we are visiting the first Sacred Heart School located in Amiens, France. While she is away on this trip, she is going to miss her home, her parents, and her pets. When she was younger, she traveled to Spain and France with her family but it was a long time ago.

The Sacred Heart schools that we are visiting are Lycée du Sacre Coeur in Amiens, France & Colegio Santa Maria del Valle in Sevilla, Spain. At each school, we will be attending classes with our Sacred Heart counterparts. In Sevilla, we are also going to have dinner with families from that school. Stay tuned for our first update which will be from Paris.

On Sunday, December 4th the group gathered at the home of Elio Casenelli.  Elio’s dad, decked us out with a some delicious food and faculty chaperone, Rachael Denny put together some fun ice-breaker type games.  A good time was had by all!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

On February 17^th, 39 Convent and Stuart Hall High School students with 5 faculty will travel to France and Spain.  This trip is special in that we will visit our sister-school in Amiens, France, for the first time.  The Lycee du Sacre Coure, as it is known in French, was the first ever Sacred Heart school established by Madeleine Sophie Barat herself in 1801.  But there is more.  We will also revisit our sister-school in Sevilla, Spain, with whom we established contact three years ago on a SHHS trip in 2009.  We were so well received and our students so genuinely enjoyed the time spent with their Spanish colleagues, that we look forward to reconnecting with students and teachers in Sevilla and continuing our relationship with them. Visits to Paris and Madrid are included on this trip.