2022 May Term plans reflect a return of normalcy

Rick Chen ’24

This year, May Term will run almost identically to pre-COVID-19 May Terms, with slight changes to international and domestic trips due to COVID precautions and restrictions. Due to the cancellation of the May Outward Bound trip for the current Freshmen and Sophomores, all Upper School students will be participating in May Term.

In the past, May Term has given students a chance to take courses that they might not be able to learn about through traditional school subjects. However, May Term was canceled for the past two years due to COVID-19. 

This year, May Term will happen, but there will be certain requirements for those students who decide to go on trips. Michael Letts, Head of Upper School, says, “In order to go on a May Term trip, you have to be fully vaccinated. Depending on the trip itself and where we are, there could be other things that they need to do, especially if entering another country where there might be certain policies and procedures that those students will need to follow. But other than that, no, [there will not be significant changes to trips].”

Despite these rules, students have expressed excitement about the ability to go on trips. Emma Lunn ‘23 comments, “I have always heard all of these great stories from upperclassmen who had May Term and went on trips, so I really hope that the trips this year and the regular May Term options are as normal as possible.” Bobby Albani ‘22 adds, “I am looking forward to going on a trip because it will give some time for the senior class to relax and have fun.”

The options for this year’s trips consist of both international and domestic excursions, which were sent to the community in a course guide by Letts in early November. The trip locations include the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, the Balkans, Ireland, Puerto Rico, and finally one trip to three islands in the Caribbean: St. Kitts, Saba, and St. Maarten.

Matthew Davis, Upper School Computer Science Teacher, is co-leading the trip to the Balkans. He comments, “When I first heard about May Term trips, I was so excited for the opportunity. I really wanted to go to Thailand a couple years ago, but then it got cancelled because of COVID. Now we’re going to go to Croatia, and it’s going to be so great. I’ve never left the country, and I’m really excited that my first trip is going to be with EA.”

The faculty who are leading the trips were given some freedoms when designing them. Davis enjoyed the design process, saying, “When we were deciding on the trip, we wanted it to be a unique experience for kids. It will end up being a unique experience for us [the teachers] too because none of us have ever been to Croatia. We wanted to design an interesting, out-there trip, so people would be super excited to sign up.”

The regular, on-campus May Term courses will run similar to how they have in the past. Letts explains, “That should run almost exactly as the way you guys are used to, although it has been a few years since we’ve done it. It’s hard to say where we’re going to be in the Spring. Our hope is like everybody else’s, that we’re in an even better place than we are now, but I don’t think you’ll see any real differences at all.”

A list of on-campus course options was given to students before Thanksgiving Break, so they had time to look them over with their families during the holidays and rank the courses that best suited their interests. Letts says, “Registration will stay open until sometime in early December, so students will have plenty of time to make selections.”

The return of the regular May Term courses has been highly anticipated among students. Clare Collins ‘23 says, “I’m really excited for May Term this year because we’ve missed it for two years. My freshman year I was selected for one where we could learn about and meet seeing-eye dogs, and I was so excited about it. It was upsetting but also understandable when we learned we couldn’t participate that year, but then the next year we still couldn’t do it and instead had classes all through May. This year, I hope I will get to participate in a fun course like meeting seeing-eye dogs.”