In a local connection to the tragic fire at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, 8th grade students from the Dora Kennedy French Immersion School had just toured the historic church on Monday before the fire broke out. Each year, the eighth graders go on a class trip to Paris and other locales in Europe to practice their fluency in French and absorb the culture. This year’s trip took students and teachers to the famed cathedral as the highlight of day two in Paris.
Students finished their tour and boarded the Metro to Montmartre and the Sacré Coeur Basilica. While in the Metro, people began shouting that the Notre Dame was on fire. Greenbelter Jackson Tuthill, part of the group, described the scene in the underground train station as “pandemonium.” While the group was never in danger, parents at home were concerned and spent anxious time trying to reach their children and the tour company emergency contacts. The school sent out an all-safe text eventually and the tour company made contact to further reassure parents.
The visit has been eventful in many ways, and it will be ingrained in their memories to have seen the iconic cathedral before the fire; to have been so close to danger and experienced the monumental grief of a great city during a catastrophic event.
The group moves on now to Switzerland, to lakes and mountains and a tranquil setting; then onto Italy, back to France and then Monaco to practice more French and to catch the flight home.
Sheila Maffay-Tuthill is the mother of Jackson Tuthill.