Students aim for Greece and Italy

An Iqaluit student trip to Mexico next April has been changed to a student trip to Italy and Greece in April 2006.

Twenty-three Inuksuk students in Grades 8 to 12 had originally signed up for the trip.

Organizers Barb Young and Renata Solski made the destination change when they saw the new EF catalogue offering a 13-day tour to Italy and Greece for $4,360 per student. This trip cost $350 more than the tour to Mexico, but both felt that it provided better value, partly due to the recent hype over the Athens Olympics and partly because Grade 8 students at Inuksuk all study ancient civilizations.

The pair made the date change when they learned that EF, the company providing the 13-day tour, required all fees to be paid by December 15, 2004. Many of the 23 students who had signed up for the trip were unable to make the payments by that time.

“There are no kids who could not get a job to earn the money,” Young told the Iqaluit District Education Authority on Monday, adding that the extra time will give more students a chance to come up with the funds.