Global Reach » Global Reach

Global Reach

Chaminade's Global Reach provides each student with the opportunities not just to learn about the world, but the chance to explore it. Each year, every grade level will participate in Experiential Education curriculum which takes learning beyond the classroom – hiking the Grand Tetons, exploring the Tower of London, and retracing the Underground Railroad.
 
There are several components to our Global Reach program including: Exchange Programs, Enrichment Trips, Experiential Education and Service Work.
 

Components

Chaminade College Preparatory School recognizes that today’s global society requires graduates who are both academically and cross-culturally prepared in order to succeed in a diverse and multicultural world. The CCP Exchange Program is designed to help prepare students for the new challenges of living and working in the global society of the 21st century.

Chaminade has had exchange programs in place since the 1990s, and we continue to search for new possibilities to increase the global awareness of our students. Below is a list of the current exchanges that we provide (and the student years involved):

Redhill, England (8th Grade students)
Melbourne, Australia (Sophomore Students)*
Madrid, Spain (8th Grade, Freshman, Sophomore students)
Fulda, Germany (Sophomore & Junior students)
Fara Sabina, Italy (Freshman & Sophomore students)
Honolulu, Hawaii (6th Grade students)
Since 2000, the 8th grade class has participated in a cultural/educational exchange with St. Bede’s School in Redhill, Surrey, England. Selected students spend the school year researching various aspects of their experience before departing for England in March. During their ten-day stay, the students stay with their exchange partner, attend classes and tour a number of historical sites. The British students visit Chaminade a few weeks later.
Trinity Grammar School in Melbourne, Australia, became a CCP global partner in 2018. Each year in August/September, students from Trinity spend five weeks in St. Louis. They attend classes at Chaminade and stay with a host family. In June, Chaminade sophomores represent our school in Australia. They spend 4 weeks with their host families, attending classes, travelling to Sydney and participating in the schools active extracurricular and athletic life.
 
*Trip temporarily postponed. We are making plans to start this exchange trip up again in the near future.
Chaminade eighth graders, freshmen and sophomores have an exciting opportunity to visit our latest global partner: Highlands School in Madrid. Students will need to apply for the privilege of staying with a host family, traveling during the week with CCP staff and local guides to various locations, and participating in school and family events on the weekends.
Our high school students have the opportunity to participate in an exchange with fellow Marianist school, Marianum, in Fulda, Germany. Marianum, which opened in 1951, is a co-ed school with 1200 students, grades in middle school and high school. The school sees itself as an institution whose aim is not only to prepare students for studies and careers, but also to give young people direction and support. The Marianum students and staff come to St. Louis in April and the Chaminade-StL students and staff will travel to Fulda at the beginning of the summer.
Chaminade Latin students will have an exciting opportunity to visit our latest global partner: Liceo Lorenzo Rocci in Italy – just outside of Rome. Students will need to apply for the privilege of staying with a host family, traveling during the week with CCP staff and local guides to various locations, and participating in school and family events on the weekends.
The Global Reach Office would like to announce an exciting educational exchange opportunity for our sixth-grade students. We have partnered with fellow Marianist school Saint Louis School in Honolulu, Hawaii, to develop a curricular, cultural, and communal partnership in our middle school. We will travel to SLS in February and the Hawaiian students will visit us in April.
  • San Salvador, El Salvador – Chaminade is partnering with an organization, called Project FIAT, which is run by the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to reach out to families in need in El Salvador. The Chaminade group will participate in service projects such as playing with children at the Sonsonate Orphanage and building new homes/clinics in rural areas in San Salvador.
  • Pine Ridge, South Dakota - Chaminade students visit the Pine Ridge reservation to help the people of the Oglala Lakota community through various tasks, such as chopping firewood, building bunk beds, and cooking meals. Students have the opportunity to learn the history and culture of the Oglala Lakota, and have a chance to take in several national park and monuments like the Badlands, Custer State Park, and Mount Rushmore.
 
  • Wilderness Expedition - Explore beautiful national parks taking Chaminade’s Wilderness Experience course. Enjoy a seven day course with two of Chaminade's Faculty in an environmental field course. Wilderness Expedition Course spent seven days hiking, exploring, observing and learning about Rocky Mountain National Park. Each student became a subject matter expert in certain ecological/geological areas and we all learned a wealth of information about and appreciation for one of the most beautiful spots on earth. Making this a real life environmental summer field course in the Rocky Mountains. They also earned half credit hour for their experience, which includes research, presentations and study. Parks explored: Rocky Mountain National Park – Colorado, Olympic National Park - Washington State, Yellowstone National Park - Wyoming.  See this 2025 information document for more information and for the link to the permissions form.
  • Cuba - Students will spend a week in this Caribbean, island nation taking in Cuban culture, cuisine, and architecture, all while learning the history of Cuba and its people.
  • China - This trip offers students a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in Chinese culture, history, and language. During this educational journey, participants visit major cities like, explore iconic landmarks such as the Great Wall and the Forbidden City, and engage with local communities to deepen their understanding of China's rich traditions. The program often includes visits to schools, cultural workshops, and exchanges with Chinese students, allowing participants to gain firsthand insights into the country’s educational system and way of life. This trip fosters global awareness and strengthens students' appreciation for diverse cultures.
  • 6th GRADE TRIP – Explore scenery and science while educating the “whole boy” with Chaminade’s Outdoor Education Program. In collaboration with the Teton Science Schools in Jackson, Wyoming, sixth graders at Chaminade embark on a world-class learning experience as they live, work and play in the ecologically diverse Grand Teton National Park and Snake River for an entire week! Teachers at Chaminade team up with graduate students from the Teton Science Schools to guide students through lessons that explore the worlds of ecology, bio-diversity, geology and sustainability. The boys will also gain greater senses of responsibility, independence, teamwork and accountability as they spend a week away from home in the late spring. The Outdoor Education Program engages the boys in an unparalleled education outside the boundaries of the classroom, fostering growth of their minds, bodies, and spirits. The Teton area scenery provides an incredible background as the boys participate in authentic, hands-on experiences and physical activities, such as hiking, animal tracking, field ecology experiments, wildlife observation, conducting ecological field research, field journaling and sketching, practicing “leave-no-trace” guidelines, alpine ecology and GIS/GPS orienteering. The Teton Science Schools’ new Jackson Campus allows the boys to live, work and play in an ecologically-centered environment. Just completed in 2006, the Jackson Campus offers the perfect accommodations for the Chaminade’s Outdoor Education Program.

  • 7th GRADE TRIP - The boys at Chaminade explore an urban playground and discover the ideas and innovations that have revolutionized America over the last century during Chaminade’s four-day Urban Experience Trip to Chicago, Illinois. Chicago is a bustling Midwestern metropolis that nearly three million people call home. A multitude of museums, dynamic attractions and landmarks, and plenty sports, arts and culture to experience make this city a standout option for Chaminade’s boys to learn, explore and become inspired. With endless opportunities for work and play, the boys have a schedule of activities that is nearly as packed and busy as the city of Chicago itself, including The Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, Chicago Art Institute, Soldier Field, Millennium Park, Buckingham Fountain and the John Hancock Building.

  • 8th GRADE OPTIONAL TRIP - Agricultural Experience – To enhance the American agriculture focus of their science and social studies courses, Chaminade eighth graders have the opportunity to explore one of our country’s most important agricultural centers. Guided by their teachers and local farmers, the students gain an understanding of the significance of farms and farm communities on the cultural and economic growth of our country. By visiting during the harvest, students are exposed to all aspects of a modern farm.

  • 8th GRADE TRIP - During the second semester, Chaminade eighth graders have the exciting opportunity to travel to Washington D.C. for an intense, four-day tour of our nation’s capital. Some of the attractions that the boys visit include the U.S. Capitol Building, Arlington National Cemetery, Mount Vernon, The Smithsonian Institute, The Jefferson Memorial & Tidal Basin, The Lincoln Memorial, The Vietnam & Korean War Memorials, World War II Memorial, The Washington Monument, the Martin Luther King Memorial, Old Towne Alexandria, and Washington, D.C. Union Station.

  • FRESHMAN TRIP – The 9th graders will be heading to Nashville, Tennessee, for their experiential ed trip. At Camp Marymount in nearby Fairview, the students and teachers will explore exciting ways to learn new material with the focus being on some core classes as well as outdoor-related activities. The rustic summer camp provides opportunities to canoe and fish, participate in hands-on activities led by their teachers, and celebrate the new school year with their classmates.

  • SOPHOMORE TRIP - The Road to Freedom trip gives sophomores the opportunity to experience the struggle for freedom and justice as they travel to Little Rock, AK, and then on to Memphis, TN, to visit a number of sites associated with our struggle for civil rights. While on the trip, stops are made at many historic sites including Little Rock Central High School, the National Civil Rights Museum, Staxx Records, and the Mason Temple, Church of God in Christ.

Multicultural and Diversity Office

Mission: The Department of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion educates in Family Spirit and strives to foster an inclusive environment across the Chaminade community in order to make all students feel seen, heard, and valued.

Vision: Aiming to provide an integral, quality education in an inclusive environment, by offering equitable opportunities to students, and further cultivating all five characteristics of Marianist education in all areas of the school operations, being: Academic, Student Services, and Administrative.

The Multicultural and Diversity Office:

The duties of the Diversity Office include, but are not limited to:

  • Providing learning opportunities for students and staff to become more culturally competent and promote diversity. 
  • Partnering with organizations and community members to improve the learning experience at Chaminade for all students.
  • Moderating extracurricular activities and leadership opportunities for students to broaden their views of the world, foster leadership, aid diversity efforts, and reinforce our Catholic Marianist traditions.