By Mitchell Mercer -February 17, 2021
Students at one Fort Mill school got to experience a new unique way of doing field trips.
Fort Mill Middle School students and staff got to participate in a virtual field trip to the Alpha Beta Education Centre in Accra, Ghana. The event was created as a way to honor Black History Month at the school.
According to a press release from the school district, each country that participated in the virtual event selected five student ambassadors to participate in an online discussion with students at Fort Mill. Each school also exchanged information to help them understand one another prior to the discussion.
Topics that were discussed with the student ambassadors included the COVID-19 pandemic, hybrid learning, what it is like to live in their country, favorite apps, music, sports, and several other subjects. Students from Ghana also shared their history in the discussion as well.
Affinity Travel Group helped sponsor the event, which highlighted the diversity throughout the world and how people and their culture are the heart to any place, according to the district.
Located in Accra, Ghana, the Alpha Beta Education Centre is known for their academic achievements and successes in order to help all students do well. The Centre also uses a varied learning environment to help students expand their viewpoint.
A video from the field trip will be shared with students across the district to help them learn more from the student ambassadors.
Full press release is down below:
Fort Mill Middle School students and staff had the opportunity to take a virtual field trip to the Alpha Beta Education Centre in Accra, Ghana as part of Black History Month. In preparation for their virtual field trip, five student ambassadors from each country were selected to participate in an online discussion with their peers. The schools also exchanged content to help them learn more about each other, their country, city and school. All questions for the online discussion were developed by the student ambassadors and touched on a variety of topics, including what a typical day is like in their country, favorite apps, music and sports. The discussion also included serious topics such as the impact COVID-19 has had in their lives and their communities, the challenges of hybrid learning and their one word description of 2020. As the host country, student ambassadors from Ghana also prepared a cultural overview to showcase student life as well as their local Ghanaian culture and heritage.
This project was made possible through a partnership with Affinity Travel Group, which provides the Travel To Do Good program, a cultural immersion and service-learning travel program that offers a virtual travel alternative. By using innovative technologies that expand learning and exploration into the virtual space, this new form of virtual travel continues to highlight the diversity of our world, culture and people which are the heart and soul of any destination experience.
The Alpha Beta Education Centre is located in Accra, Ghana and is a “prepared environment” for learning and academic excellence. Their facilities, staff and curriculum provide students with all the resources needed to excel. The Alpha Beta Education Centre helps expose children to a rich and varied teaching and learning environment which seeks to broaden their outlook.
The field trip was recorded and will be shared with all middle school students across the district to allow everyone to learn from the experiences of the student ambassadors.
