On Wednesday, May 22, the Bolles Lower School Ponte Vedra Beach Campus Library and the Bolles Lower School Whitehurst Campus Copeland Library hosted Valerie and Bryce, two world travelers with whom students on both campuses have been Skyping this school year as the pair drove through South America and visited the Galapagos Islands and Antarctica. After many months of remote conversations, students were finally able speak with Valerie and Bryce in person.
The travelers also are personal friends of Ponte Vedra Beach Campus Head Peggy Campbell-Rush, who knew them as students when she directed a Semester at Sea program. The pair later established a program called “The Great Untold EDU,” an educational outreach for students.
Valerie and Bryce arrived on the Bolles Lower School Ponte Vedra Beach Campus just two days after arriving in Miami from their yearlong journey. Students convened in George Hall to watch a special recap of their trip and ask questions about their adventure. Students were very interested in the types of animals they encountered as well as trip logistics. The pair later traveled to the Whitehurst Campus in Jacksonville to meet first grade students in Copeland Library.
First graders on both campuses have been focusing on the continent of South America as part of their global studies. Each grade level honed in on a different continent. Bolles’ yearlong focus on the world’s continents has influenced students’ world perspectives in many ways and in many areas of learning including art, performance and innovation.
