Back row, from left: Junior Siobhan Burke, Junior Isabella Hendrickson, Ms. Blythe Cowen, Junior Brenna Conneely, Junior Paige Murphy, Junior Jenna Canavan, Junior Sophia Tremblay and Mr. Tim MacKenzie; Front row, from left: Sophomore Elizabeth Luggelle, Junior Abbie Twombly, Junior Emma Carney and Senior Caitlin Canavan. The group visited Machu Pichu during their trip to Peru. (Photo Courtesy Hull Public Schools) 
Back row, from left: Senior Jimmy Regan, Freshman Summer Hill, Sophomore Jaden Stilphen , Junior Melissa Rymaszewski, Senior Olivia Rys and Sophomore Ciara Deshiro on a trip in Belize. Front row, from left: Sophomore Collin Samya, Sophomore Nathan Simoly, Freshman Riley More and Senior Rebecca Rosenbaum. Right of sign from left to right: Junior Robert Hunter and Sophomore Ava Brown. (Photo Courtesy Hull Public Schools)
HULL — Principal Nicole Nosek is pleased to share that Hull High School students participated in educational trips to Central and South America over February school vacation.
Hull High School students traveled to Peru and Belize over school vacation with teachers to take part in educational trips that coincided with their class curriculum over the course of nine days.
Under the supervision of social studies teachers Tim MacKenzie and Blythe Cowen, 10 students traveled to Peru to partake in a Project Humanitarian Involvement (PHI) service-learning trip. The group participated in the Valle Sagrado Project, which provides housing and tutoring for girls in the Peruvian highlands who otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity to attend high school.
During their work with the Valle Sagrado Project, students weeded, leveled dirt and moved rocks to prepare the grounds for the building of a second dormitory. Students also stuffed pillows in preparation for the start of the school year in March. During their free time, they had the opportunity to experience the cultural treasures of Peru, including visits to Machu Picchu, Lima and the Carnival festivities in Cusco.
Along with the service trip to Peru, a group of 12 students, under the supervision of biology teacher Sheila Blair, traveled to Belize. The trip was organized by Blair in partnership with Ecology Project International. While in Belize, students participated in the Belize-Marine Ecology Program.
Students spent part of their nine-day trip working with scientific researchers to monitor sea grass beds, survey yellow-headed parrots and collect water quality data while searching for manatees in the protected waters of the Port Honduras Marine Reserve. In addition to their reserve work, students explored and studied the many ecosystems found in Payne’s Creek National Park from broadleaf forests, herbaceous marshlands, to saline and hypersaline lagoons. They also participated in a clean up of a village in Punta Negra which is a small coastal community decimated by coastal erosion.
While in Belize, students also had the opportunity to witness the rich cultural and biological diversity of Southern Belize; snorkel and explore reef and mangrove ecosystems; and lodge at Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, a world-renowned jaguar sanctuary, where students experienced the various habitats of a tropical rainforest ecosystem.
“Hull High School would like to extend a huge thank you to the Hull Parent Teacher Organization, Boosters, chaperoning teachers and parents for making these unforgettable experiences possible for our students,” said Principal Nosek.
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