From April 26 to May 17, the senior class traveled through Poland, Czechia, Hungary, Slovakia and Germany for their senior capstone trip. While the original plan was for the class to spend three months in Israel and one week in Europe, because of the ongoing conflict in Israel, the trip was shortened and restructured to cover only Europe.
Senior Ella Arking had anticipated the original Israel trip to be canceled due to the ongoing conflict in Iran. However, she was still looking forward to the trip despite the sudden change in plans.
Although Arking said she greatly enjoyed the trip, she said at times the three-week trip could feel exhausting. “By the end, I was definitely really excited to come home,” Arking said. “After constantly moving between countries and hostels for three weeks, it started to feel really tiring.”
The trip began in Warsaw, Poland, where students toured historical landmarks and Jewish heritage sites before continuing through the next four countries. Although much of the itinerary centered around guided tours, students also had free time to independently explore the cities and spend time together outside the scheduled programming.
Some of the most memorable moments, according to Arking, were the spontaneous ones that were not organized by teachers or tour guides. On Friday nights and after havdalah, students gathered together to sing without any instruction.
“We all would put our arms around each other and get in a really big circle, and it was honestly really special,” Arking said.
One of the teachers who witnessed many of those moments throughout the trip was high school math teacher Ruben Silberman, who served as a chaperone for the Poland portion of the trip. He was not originally meant to attend the Israel trip, but because JDS had to reorganize the trip quickly, teachers were asked to serve as additional chaperones.
Silberman said this year’s program differed from previous senior trips because students spent more time learning about the broader culture and history of each country rather than focusing exclusively on Jewish history and the Holocaust.
“This year, our kids have the opportunity to learn a lot more about the history of the cities, not just the Jewish history,” Silberman said. “A lot more chances to explore the beauty of the cities.”
One emotional part of the trip came during the class’s visit to the Majdanek concentration camp in Lublin, Poland. Silberman said students spent time reflecting together after the visit and participated in group readings.
According to Silberman, the emotional intensity of the trip was balanced by lighter moments that allowed students to process their experiences while still enjoying time together as a class.
“We realized that we had to take our feet off the gas after one of those more intense days and let them process,” Silberman said.
Lisa Vardi, high school principal and Upper School campus head, said she saw the seniors processing those intense moments after visiting the Topography of Terror museum in Berlin. While Vardi was only on the trip for the last nine days, she said it was great to see how meaningful the trip was for the senior class. However, it didn’t come without its challenges.
Vardi said the challenges extended beyond logistics and scheduling into the emotional experience of the trip itself. After visiting the Topography of Terror museum in Berlin, she saw students working through intense moments in different ways and said it was important to support them throughout the experience.
“Making sure that kids were engaged with the experience, balancing free time versus structured time,” Vardi said. “I think also ensuring that kids felt supported when there were really difficult moments on the trip as well.”
Another memorable part of the trip was when the group stayed in Swiss Bohemia along the Czech-German border, where students spent the day hiking through the mountains together.
Students had the option of completing either a three-hour or six-hour hike, with many choosing the longer route despite facing rain, hail and steep trails along the way. When the students returned to the lodge that evening, Vardi said the atmosphere reflected the closeness the class had built throughout the trip.
“I saw the group coming in from their hike, and there was music playing, and they were so excited after going on this six-hour hike together and going through all this different weather and seeing all this beauty,” Vardi said.
The experience in Swiss Bohemia, along with other shared moments throughout the trip, became part of what Vardi said strengthened the group’s sense of connection.
“It’s all about human connection, and this, you know, coming together and being able to go through this experience, the difficult moments and the joyful moments,” Vardi said.
