For Immediate Release

Thursday, March 30, 2017

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Melrose High Students Complete Exchange Program in Spain

MELROSE — Melrose High School Principal Jason Merrill is pleased to announce that 28 students visited Spain as part of an exchange program.

Spanish teachers Nicsa Dagger-Cain and Steven Malley guided the Melrose High School students as they traveled through Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia. The trip started on Feb. 10 and lasted two weeks.

While in Valencia, students lived with host families, where they were able to further develop their Spanish speaking skills and interact with students from a Spanish high school in the area to gain a better understanding of the country’s culture.

The exchange program, which began in 2010, was started by Dagger-Cain under the direction of former Global Language Department head Stella Cocchiara. This was MHS’ fourth time participating in the trip, which is offered to students every two years. Today, Dagger-Cain and Malley co-direct the Spanish exchanges with Dr. Kimberly Talbot, MHS’ Global Language Department head.

This year’s trip marked the first time that students were able to visit Barcelona. During the two-day and two-night tour of Barcelona, they walked along Las Ramblas, communed with a monastery in the Montserrat mountains, and visited architect Antoni Gaudí’s Parque Güell, as well as his La Sagrada Familia Basilica, which has been under continuous construction for more than 100 years.

The students also visited the world-famous El Prado Museum of Art in Madrid, in between taking walking and bus tours of the city. In Valencia, they toured El Oceanográfic, which is Europe’s largest aquarium, saw the turrets of the ancient wall that surrounded the old quarters of the city, and took a day trip to the Roman ruins of the seaside towns, Sagunto and Peñíscola, in the Valencian region.

The Spanish exchange program is one of five offered at MHS. Students taking French, German, Italian and Latin also have the opportunity to travel abroad to experience and learn more about foreign cultures.

“Our exchange programs are extremely valuable. They bring classroom experiences to life and provide invaluable lessons to students,” Principal Merrill said. “This year, students represented our school with dignity while in Spain and showed a desire to learn, explore and be self-sufficient.”

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