BARRHEAD — Pembina Hills trustees passed a motion at their Feb. 21 meeting giving approval in principle to a trip by Barrhead Composite High School (BCHS) students to Greece and Turkey in spring 2025, though the itinerary may need to change if conflicts in the region make it unsafe to travel.
All international tours must be approved in principle by the board of trustees prior to further planning by lead teachers.
Director of education services Raime Drake said that BCHS teacher Steven Montgomery submitted the itinerary for the trip a week before the Feb. 21 meeting.
The trip will take place from March 19 to April 2, 2025, and will mostly take place within Greece, with a one-day excursion into the western portion of Turkey. This trip will relate to the students’ Social Studies curriculum.
“They’re planning well in advance and they have selected EF Tours, which is a pre-approved vendor for Pembina Hills,” said Drake. “(They have a) really strong reputation and specialize in school tours.”
Drake said Montgomery submitted all the necessary paperwork and the relevant travel advisories for both countries, as issued by the Government of Canada.
While the federal government advises normal security precautions for travelling to Greece, Turkey borders Syria, where a civil war between the forces of President Bashar al-Assad and a coalition of Islamist militant groups has been ongoing for over a decade now.
Although this poses an elevated risk, Drake noted the conflict is very localized and the one-day excursion into Turkey by the BCHS group would be to a region far away from said conflict.
Drake said the lead teacher must monitor the federal government’s travel advisories over the next year, and if they advise the region is unsafe to travel to, then the itinerary must be amended as necessary.
Board chair Judy Lefebvre asked what type of transportation would be used for this one-day excursion, though Drake was unable to answer.
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