Prior Lake-Savage students return with photos and reflections from 12-day European study tour

Thirty-four Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools students and four staff chaperones presented photos and first-person descriptions of a 12-day educational trip to Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France at the district’s August board meeting.

Superintendent Dr. Thomas introduced the presentation, and chaperones Mary Dooley and Lisa Becker led students through a day-by-day recap of highlights, from landing in Frankfurt to visits in Ulm, Munich, the Black Forest, Strasbourg and Heidelberg. Students described climbing the Ulm church tower, touring the Dachau memorial and museum, visiting Olympic Park in Munich and seeing Alpine castles such as Neuschwanstein.

Students also described hands-on experiences in Switzerland, including a chocolate factory and a cheese factory tour, and visiting what they described as the largest waterfall they saw in Europe. One student summarized the memorial visit plainly: "We got to have a tour, and we looked at the museum." Chaperones said the trip combined cultural immersion with language practice and independent responsibilities such as ordering meals and shopping.

Dr. Thomas thanked the board for supporting the trip and invited students present to be recognized; several students received small awards at a concluding ceremony for participation, language improvement and good citizenship. Robert Cothern, the district’s incoming executive director of administrative services, and board members congratulated the students on their behavior and learning.

The presentation emphasized experiential learning and relationship-building; students noted that navigating transport, conversations and shared activities helped strengthen friendships and language skills. The district did not announce any immediate programmatic changes based on the trip but framed the experience as an enrichment opportunity for language students and cultural exchange participants.