Several Marblehead High School students are set to return home Friday after a February vacation trip to Morocco and Spain was extended by four nights due to storm-related flight delays.
At the Feb. 26 School Committee meeting, Superintendent John Robidoux reported that students on the school-sponsored trip were “stuck in Paris” for a few days. He used the hand gesture for quotation marks around the word “stuck.”
MHS Vice Principal “Dan Richards and all the chaperones worked tirelessly to make sure all the students are safe and well taken care of, despite the huge shift in plans,” Robidoux said.
“It is my understanding that the tour company has absorbed the cost of the extra hotel stay, the change in flights and provided breakfast and dinner for the extra days,” Robidoux added. “So, the unplanned costs have been fairly minimal, including having to buy lunch and the entrance to the Louvre, which is well worth the price of admission if you ask me. Been there. Awesome.”
Heather Glick’s son, Noah Smerka, is on the trip.
“I am very happy with the way everything was handled — and extremely impressed,” Glick told the Current. “Noah’s never been to Paris. He recognized this as an opportunity. Dan Richards and the other chaperones made it positive for them.”
Robidoux said one student misplaced their passport.
“Dan Richards is working with that student’s parents and the student, they have a meeting at the embassy … All the paperwork been gone over. It’s all ready to go.”
The student is expected to receive an emergency passport and be on a later flight today.
“I’m hugely appreciative of the staff, students and families who have had to endure this unexpected shift in plans.,” Robidoux said. “I’ve spoken to (MHS Principal) Dr. Carlson and the absences will be absolved.”
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