Experiences for Andrews Osborne Academy students do not come to a halt when the school closes for breaks and they travel home for the holidays, travel domestically or spend their time off locally with a host family. While the school closes, it’s an opportunity for students to engage in other things, said Head of School Gonzalo Garcia-Pedroso. “When school closes, it doesn’t stop,” he said, noting that AOA’s winter break is from Dec. 20 through Jan. 5. It wasn’t until the pandemic that many boarding schools decided to stay open for international students due to the difficulties with traveling, Garcia-Pedroso said. “We didn’t even close for summer,” he recalled. “At that time, we had students the entire summer. Last year, we were still open during break, but I think like anything, it’s like transitioning off that pandemic model to more of why we close.” During Thanksgiving break this year, Subhin "Avon" Park, an Andrews Osborne Academy student from South Korea, played mini golf with Ella Gifford in South Carolina for the first time. (Jeannie Fleming-Gifford)Subhin "Avon" Park, an Andrews Osborne Academy student from South Korea, watched the sunrise during a South Carolina trip she took while on Thanksgiving break this year. (Jeannie Fleming-Gifford)Andrews Osborne Academy students Maiara Sharma (bottom left) and Gaia Di Bari (bottom right) stayed with Lydia Kennedy's family over Thanksgiving break this year. (Marah Morrison -- The News-Herald)Gaia Di Bari (right), an Andrews Osborne Academy student from Italy, has experienced home stays during break with Maiara Sharma, a student from Kenya. (Marah Morrison -- The News-Herald)Gaia Di Bari (left), an Andrews Osborne Academy student from Italy, has experienced home stays during break with Maiara Sharma, a student from Kenya. (Marah Morrison -- The News-Herald)Experiences for Andrews Osborne Academy students do not come to a halt when the school closes for breaks. (Marah Morrison -- The News-Herald)Show Caption1 of 6During Thanksgiving break this year, Subhin "Avon" Park, an Andrews Osborne Academy student from South Korea, played mini golf with Ella Gifford in South Carolina for the first time. (Jeannie Fleming-Gifford)Expand Theresa Frisbie, director of Lower School Academics, is among the host families in Lake County who take in international students during breaks. “Some students go home, some travel in groups and then some stay with host families locally here,” she said. “I had two sons come through AOA and our first hosting experience was when school shut down for the pandemic and kids could not get home. We had a boy from South Korea come stay with us for three weeks before he could get a flight home and we really loved having him.” Related Articles Local News | ODOT: Madison Township intersection realignment improves safety, reduces crashes Local News | Longtime Perry public official Rick Amos dies at age 74 Local News | Concord Township enters 2025 with increased funding, project plans Local News | Willowick Public Library to host year-long series focusing on area organizations Local News | Wickliffe Public Library hosts talk on ‘The Mounds Club Robbery’ Throughout the home stay, many fond memories were built despite being at the beginning of the pandemic, Frisbie said. “Last year, we had several students stay with us, sharing family traditions,” she said. As a host family and as a person who has a child attending AOA, the ability to open up your home to a boarder is a true holistic education experience, said Jeannie Fleming-Gifford, the academy’s director of development. During Thanksgiving break this year, Fleming-Gifford also hosted a student from South Korea. “We traveled with her,” she said. “She wanted to go on college visits. That was a unique experience to both be able to provide that opportunity for her and we had some magical moments during that week. We saw whales, went miniature golfing for the first time, saw a Christmas show and to see the joy in her eyes reminded me of the gifts we are given here. The education doesn’t stop for me or my family when the school day ends.” For AOA student Maiara Sharma, especially during Christmastime — as her birthday is on Christmas Eve — she likes to go home to Kenya to her family despite the exhausting travel. Andrews Osborne Academy students Maiara Sharma, left, and Gaia Di Bari, right, stayed with Lydia Kennedy’s family over Thanksgiving break this year. (Marah Morrison — The News-Herald) “It’s around two hours to JFK (John. F. Kennedy International Airport), a few hours layover and then 15 hours straight home,” she said. “There’s been times where the flight’s been delayed, canceled and a lot of complicated issues with my flights, but the best part about that is it’s very easy for me to say this has happened and this is now what’s going to happen, and the response time is quick. They’re very accommodating.” Sharma has been an AOA student for the last two years and traveled home during winter break last year as well as during Thanksgiving break. However, during Thanksgiving last year, she visited with her grandparents in India. “They paid for my ticket just so I could meet them,” Sharma said. “Most people go home because Christmastime is time for families to connect and spend time with each other, but one thing I’ve noticed is a lot of people go around the United States. I know one of my friends is going with his cousin to New York.” Sharma has also observed that many students enjoy the fact they get to explore more and gain independence during breaks. “Other people like to go for internships, and people like me, family comes first,” she said. “I think it’s beautiful to see how excited the kids become during this time. We’re finishing up our exams, packing together, we’re all getting ready together and then when we come back, it’s like coming back to a second home. You create a community here.” Gaia Di Bari, an AOA student from Italy, said AOA is like a second home as it’s like having many brothers and sisters. “They can make you feel better because one moment, you’re talking about your home, so you’re talking about your family, friends and the things that you like,” she said. Bari has done home stays with Sharma during her time at AOA. “I’ve only known Gaia for four months now and for me, I can’t imagine life without her,” Sharma said. “You’re building lives together, and people don’t understand how deep an experience is when you get to spend every living second together.”