The 8th Grade Virginia trip is definately a Culminating trip that is difficult to describe. This goes way beyond learning about a battle or how our ancestors built our country…these students applied years of learning and growing all to a two week experience. Whether looking at artifacts, taking notes, listening to guides and teachers explain what happened at a specific site, or deciding on the best gift for a relative, our students were focused, kind, and thoughful about their task and how they would apply this experience.
For some time, we walked through the Washington Mall, looking at monuments and thinking about the men and women who had served and earned the right to have their names engraved in the stone. There was a family there with an elderly man in a wheelchair. They were pushing him from monument to monument. It was obvious he was emotional about being there as they quietly moved from one statue to another. Our students had to move to another location, but not before doing what felt right…….
“Sir, my name is ___________ and I live in Grayslake Illinois. I would like to thank you for your service…would you mind if I shook your hand?”
A long line of 8th graders stood to thank that man personally…….there are no words to describe that feeling.