The Cassville class of 2023 is embarking on a journey no class has organized before, a senior trip overseas for a 10-day adventure in Ireland, Wales, London, Paris and Versailles.

Victoria Robertson, trip sponsor, said a total of 23 students, three parents and four advisors plan to travel to Europe, at a cost of about $4,000 each.

“Lisa [Reid] and i discussed taking a trip like this in previous years, but we didn’t have the group or the means or the ideas to make it happen. We thought this could be the year, so we talked to Principal Tyler Willis and he talked took it to the superintendent.”

Robertson said on a recommendation from Purdy school staff, Cassville used the Explorica educational tours company to plan the trip.

“We surveyed the seniors on where to go, and the answers were overwhelmingly for London and Paris,” she said.

Allyson Kloss, a senior planning to go on the trip, said when she heard about the opportunity, it was a no-brainer to jump on board.

“Who wouldn’t want to go to Europe and immerse themselves in a world they are not used to, seeing different things and different people,” she said.

The first three days will be in Ireland, with a guided tour of Dublin, featuring landmarks like St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Book of Kells, among others. Day four will be a North Wales venture, where participants will ride mules into the town of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch — yes, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.

Days five and six will be immersed in London, with lunch in the birthplace of Shakespeare, a visit to Anne Hathaway’s cottage and obligatory trips to Big Ben and Buckingham Palace. Multiple other stops will be made, as well.

In Paris on days seven to nine, students will have no shortage of cultural opportunities, with a city walk including Notre Dame and a sightseeing tour with all the traditional locations.

Participants will also visit the Louvre and have an excursion through Versailles, among other activities.

Kloss said the students are all excited for different things, and she’s most excited for London.

“I want to see Big Ben and walk streets I’ve never walked before,” she said. “There’s a whole other world out there. Big Ben is really historic, and I’ve always heard about it and one of the colleges I visited had a clock like it. I guess I like clocks.”

Robertson said for nearly all, this is the first trip out of the country, and for some still, the first out of Missouri.

“I’m excited to live vicariously through these students, as some haven’t left the four-state area, or even Missouri, before. I have been to Mexico, and Principal Tyler Willis, who is going as an advisor, has been to London.”

Kloss said this will be her first time in a foreign country, and her travel experience state-side is limited.

“I went to Washington, D.C., last summer,” she said. “Other than that, the farthest I have been from home is probably Kansas City.

Fundraising for the trip is well underway, with a number of students having fully funded their portions, Robertson said.

“We had a labor auction in December where we raised about $7,000, not including what was donated to each student after their service agreement,” she said. “We [also held soup nights during basketball season, and] we are thinking about putting together an area garage sale in April, but we are still working out those details.”

Kloss said she intends to raise enough money to pay her own way on the trip, which has encouraged her to meet with potential donors face-to-face.

“It’s been hard work,” she said. “I’ve been going out in-person and talking face-to-face with people. I think meeting like that adds more emotion than just a call on the phone. We are all also trying to come up with new ideas to fundraise.”

Robertson said the goal is to have all students paid for, plus a couple hundred dollars apiece in spending and meal money, as they will have to buy one meal per day. Group fundraising cash is split evenly between all students, no matter if a student has fully paid with private donations.

Robertson said the goal for the seniors is not only to have a good time, but also to learn.

“We want them to see the places they have been writing about the last four years,” she said. “We hope to bring the experience to life and gain some culture. I’m really proud of this group and their work ethic. It makes my heart happy to have this group and to get to go with them.”

Kloss, who is headed to Missouri State University in the fall, said as excited as she is, she also recognizes this may be the last time she sees some of her classmates.

“It’s bittersweet because the trip is after graduation, so I’ll get to hang with my best friends one last time,” she said. “It’s a goodbye in a way, especially as we go on with our lives.”

Anyone wishing to donate or help fundraise may reach Robertson by email at vrobertson@cassville.k12. mo.us.