What I Did on My Spring Break

Much of the Hawken Community spent spring break abroad on varied and exciting adventures. London The Hawken Chorale travelled to London for a series of performances. The group of 26 Upper School students will give three concerts of sacred music in the greater London area, including a performance in Canterbury Cathedral. A performance at St. Giles was a benefit and helped raise nearly $4,000 for their restoration projects. The Chorale was presented with a plaque and proclamations from the official Town Crier of London (wearing complete 17th century town crier regalia) representing the Mayor`s office and the mayor of Southwark, where the church is located. Traveling by tube all over the city, the group also toured the National Gallery, British Museum, Tower of London, St. Paul`s Cathedral and Globe Theater. They enjoyed dinner at the Victoria Pub, a very well known pub frequented by many members of parliament and celebrities. Queen Victoria`s table napkin (cleaned and pressed) hung directly above their table! The group also took in performances, including West End productions of Disney`s Mary Poppins and Billy Elliot before their debuts on Broadway. During free time on the last day, the students visited Portobello Road, Westminster Abbey, Soho, Leiscester Square, Piccadilly, Knightsbridge and Oxford St. The last night was topped with a late night Ghost tour through the back alleys of the city. Italy Denise Buckley, Liz Crowe and Chai Reddy escorted 19 art students on a trip to Italy. The itinerary included trips to Siena, San Gimignano, Florence, Volterra, Venice and Pisa. The group toured art museums, history museums and heard lectures. The students drew every place they went, enjoyed long walks, went to a discotheque and ate lots of gelato. \"The kids took care of each other and bonded as friends in ways you wouldn`t expect,\" Buckley said. \"It was the perfect trip.\" Buckley also ran into Courtney Stewart `99 who was participating in a paid internship at the Petty Guggenheim museum, who said, \"Miss Buckley I thought that was you but then I looked and saw the two different color socks and I knew it was you!\" Costa Rica Several members of the faculty participated in the 2006 Faculty Trip over spring break. See what adventures they discovered in Pura Vida, Costa Rica here.