Twenty-three Kepner Middle School eighth-grade students will leave for Europe on Thursday, April 1 to cruise the Rhine, tour Gothic cathedrals and visit the Anne Frank house, among many other stops.

Four Kepner Middle School staff members and six relatives will accompany the students, who have raised money through various endeavors to pay for their trips. They also have participated in an elective class to learn about European history, culture and the sites. Students will visit Germany, France, England and Belgium during their 10-day trip.

The tour begins in Germany with stops in Frankfurt and Cologne and then moves to Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris and London.

The group will see the birthplace of Goethe and castles in Germany, travel through irrigated Dutch landscapes and take a canal cruise in Amsterdam, visit the Notre Dame Cathedral and take a walking tour in Paris, including a stop at the Louvre, and then ride the high-speed train to London to see Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden and Big Ben. The group returns on Sunday, April 11.

The Anne Frank house in Amsterdam is bound to be a highlight, says Kepner principal Deborah Lanman, because the students have been studying her story and the Holocaust.

Students will be joined by Kepner staff members Carrie Olson, Jackie Arriaga, Oscar Colmenero and Ed Santos.

Kepner Middle School is located at 911 S. Hazel Ct. The school’s telephone number is 303-727-5250.