8TH GRADE DC TRIP

By Christopher Nguyen

From January 10 to January 13, the 8th grade humanities students went on their annual trip to Washington, DC. The group was chaperoned by Principal Smith, Mr. Hammer, Coach Thein, Mrs. Hardin, Ms. O'Connor, Mrs. Tatro, and Mr. Dale, and visited the Lincoln and Martin Luther King memorials along with several Smithsonian museums, the Arlington National Cemetery, the Capitol Building, the Holocaust Musuem, and the Spy Museum. At Arlington, four of the 8th grade students were even able to lay a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a famous historic monument.

Mr. Dale, one of the group's chaperones, has made this trip with his 8th grade students several times. One of his favorite parts of this year's trip was going into the Capitol Building, where he noted: “Regardless of political orientation or beliefs it is always cool to see congressional members in the flesh after seeing them on TV all the time. We always schedule the trip in the beginning of January, which is a busy time in Congress, so we always bump into or see someone working in Congress.” He also enjoyed seeing four of his students lay a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and “Seeing the students bond on and throughout the trip and the memories that are had as students move through upper school and out into the real world.”