Social Studies teacher Samantha Murphy is the Travel Club advisor at Linganore. The club’s students raise money throughout the year to take a trip. This year’s Travel Club will venture to London and France during the summer of 2023. 

Murphy began the Travel Club at Linganore because nobody else was taking the initiative to do so. Students told her about their friends and relatives in other schools who had the opportunity to go on school trips during the summer. Murphy took this into consideration and wanted to make this idea happen for students at Linganore. 

In the past, Murphy would choose where the students would go for their trip, based on the expenses, and make sure the club never went to the same place multiple times. Now, the students in the club have complete autonomy in choosing where they want to go and vote as a club on their final destination. 

Students in the club individually create fundraisers to raise money to contribute to the cost of the trip. Murphy has selected “Explorica” as the tour company the club will be using this year. Each club member pays individually through the tour company.

Explorica has itineraries for sale that help create an exciting schedule for the students’ trip. Murphy looks through the itineraries to see how much each costs. The price for each itinerary includes the cost of students’ lunch and souvenirs they wish to purchase. This helps students avoid traveling with a lot of money on their persons, which ensures they can travel more safely. 

During club meetings, students will learn about the culture and languages of the country they are visiting. For example, they plan on going to London and France this summer, so throughout the year, they will be learning French and going to restaurants that reflect French culture and cuisine.

A meeting with parents is also scheduled during the year to provide the expectations for the trip, including student behavior and what to pack.