After students departed from campus last Thursday to begin Spring Break, many students went their separate ways to go home, travel to far-reaching places, or tour colleges. For many athletes, actors, and students, the spring break offers a chance to explore their respective activities without the restraints of the typical school day routine.
Many spring sports teams traveled to warmer climates to take advantage of some extra time before the season begins. While none of the trips are required for members of the teams, many athletes find them to be a great way to develop skills and build relationships as a newcomer or refine them as a seasoned team member.
The most popular destination for the teams was Orlando, Florida. For the first week of Spring Break, the boys’ and girls’ lacrosse teams traveled to the ESPN Wide World of Sports, a giant athletic complex for pro and amateur athletes located in the Walt Disney World Resort.
Later in the break, the varsity baseball team and varsity golf team will also head down to Orlando to take in the warmer weather. For all the teams in Orlando, the proximity to other teams allows the chance to engage in friendly competition throughout the week. When not training or competing, students hang out around the resort or take advantage of the many rides and activities in the park.
In Clemson, South Carolina, the boys’ and girls’ rowing teams are taking advantage of expansive stretches of water in the warmer climate to prepare for the upcoming racing season. Recently, Clemson has become a hotbed for rowing spring training, with dozens of club, collegiate, and high school teams traveling to the area each week in the spring.
The varsity sailing team, a co-ed team, traveled to the island country of Bermuda this week for spring training. Being an island, Bermuda is well known for its nautical culture and is the destination of the popular Marion-Bermuda race, which will be held for the 40th time this June. Bermuda is home to varsity sailor Chase Cooper, as well as several other members of the Tabor community.
Last week, Tabor showcased the production Laramie Project, a play about the reaction to the 1998 murder of University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming, who was murdered because he was gay. On Friday, March 10, the cast of the Laramie Project traveled to the United Kingdom to showcase their production to a European audience.
At the end of the trip, the cast will have traveled to major cities such as Dublin and London, and several other sightseeing stops along the way. The main stop of the trip, however, is Ellesmere College, an independent co-educational day and boarding school located near Ellesmere, in rural northern Shropshire, England.
This visit is part of a biannual exchange program that is over 20 years old. In the exchange, Tabor students will live on campus at Ellesmere and experience life at boarding school in England while showcasing Laramie Project. In mid-April, a group from Ellesmere College will travel to Tabor to do the same thing, experiencing life in American boarding schools and performing their own play for the Tabor community.
The farthest destination for a group of Seawolves is Beijing, China, where nine Tabor students are visiting RDFZ Xishan School for a one-week exchange with students at the school. The exchange is in its fourth year, and it allows students to live in homestays while experiencing a Chinese school known for its academic rigor and excellence and its interactive 21st century learning environment. In addition to the classes the students will take, they will be able to explore Chinese landmarks inside Beijing and the Great Wall of China.
Even when school is not in session, Tabor is well represented across the map and highly involved in communities in the region and around the world.
By Jack Gordon