Meet the Chaperones

Ms. Gerhart, personal photo

Abington High School chaperones Mr. Holzman, Mr. Donahue, and Ms. Gerhart (left to right) on a trip to Greece. This year, Mrs. Peck will be joining as the fourth chaperone (not pictured).

Mr. Holzman

Mr. Holzman has traveled a ton throughout his life. He has actually traveled to both Italy and Greece, so this trip will not be new for him. He traveled to Italy with his family and Greece on a past school trip. He’s “excited that students will be able to travel to somewhere both so culturally and historically rich.” He also wants students to “experience different cultures and see the real world, not that on some phone screen.” Mr. Holzman said that these Global Education trips help students “to learn that despite superficial differences, they have a lot in common with other people from around the globe.” As to why this trip was planned, he believes “so much of what students learn in school can be traced back to those civilizations:  math, literature, history, design, etc.  Also, each of those destinations is home to amazing works of art and architectural marvels.” He is also looking forward to this trip because “the food is amazing!”

In addition to his previous Italy and Greece trips, Mr. Holzman has traveled to Quebec, Aruba, Bahamas, England, Ireland, France, France, Switzerland,  Germany,  Lichtenstein, and Iceland. When asked if he was looking forward to seeing the history of the two countries, he said, “ ​I love history! In high school, I was fortunate to have had a great history teacher named Mr. Cole.  He was so passionate and always encouraged his students to imagine putting themselves in the context of the civilizations they studied. When you are literally standing in such magnificent locations, it is far easier to feel connected to history.”

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Mr. Donahue

Mr. Donahue, one of the four chaperones for the 2020 trip, was also a chaperone for Abington High’s Global Education trip to Greece last year. “The trip was amazing and it was always one of the top places to go on my [his] bucket list,” he said. Like Ms. Gerhart, Mr. Donahue recently traveled to Germany, Austria and Switzerland on a school trip. In the past he has traveled to Ireland, Aruba, St. Martin, Toronto, Canada, Montreal, Puerto Rico, and Mexico He has also traveled to Iceland and Greece on previous Global Education trips as a chaperone. He is looking forward to seeing Italy. He said, “I loved Greece and many people have told me that Italy is even better.” Like Mr. Holzman, Mr Donahue has “always loved history” and is “fascinated by World War I and II and just the history of Europe in general.” He said he “has had some great history teachers to thank for that.” About the students he said he “loves seeing students experience something so different and enriching. They see different cultures yet can realize they are similar to people from around the world.  I love seeing the students enjoy these experiences and not have their attention on their phones all the time.”

Ms. Gerhart

Ms. Gerhart just returned from the April 2019 trip to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and will be traveling on another school trip next year. She has never been to Italy or Greece before and “is excited to explore new parts of the world.”  Ms. Gerhart said that “the Greece and Italy trip was planned because a lot of students showed interest in traveling to Italy or Greece so we [chaperones] decided to make it one trip.” Ms. Gerhart likes to travel. In addition to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, she has traveled to the Bahamas twice, the Dominican Republic once, and just went to Paris in January with other teachers going on a school trip next year. 

Mrs. Peck

Mrs. Peck , like Ms. Gerhart, has never been to Italy or Greece. She is the 2020 class advisor and a tutor at the school. Although she hasn’t been to either, she traveled to Paris in January.  She has also traveled to Canada, London, Belize, both East and West Caribbean, Alaska, Honduras, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Aruba, Mexico, Bermuda, and the Bahamas. This February, she took 21 AHS students on a Global Education trip to the Dominican Republic. This was Abington’s first service trip experience. As for next year, Mrs. Peck said she is “looking forward to seeing the Sistine Chapel, Roman Catacombs, Olympic Stadium, and Vatican City because learning about the 15th century in Mr. Moore’s class piqued my curiosity.” She added that “to see in person what we were learning about will be an amazing experience.” Mrs. Peck said she hopes the 27 students going on the Greece-Italy trip “learn the importance of history and how it has shaped and continue to shape our world. I think it is important for kids to experience different cultures, for example, their foods how they live, their music and art.”