Gilroy
– For 18 students at South Valley Middle School, education will
not be put on hold when spring break comes.
Gilroy – For 18 students at South Valley Middle School, education will not be put on hold when spring break comes.
In their time off during the second week of April, the eighth-graders will fly to Washington, D.C. to experience first hand what they’ve studied in textbooks.
“A hands-on approach to any historical moment is key,” said Liz Neely, one of two teachers volunteering their vacation time to take kids on the trip.
“We can read in textbooks and make inferences about what happened, but being able to see the artifacts helps the kids connect.”
Neely and fellow teacher, Chris Leong, have planned a four-day trip through World Strides – an educational tour organizer with 40 years experience.
The trip will start with a visit to Jamestown, Virginia a pseudo-historic village that features actors portraying life in the 17th century. That night, students will witness a mock witch trial, one of the legendary, occasional practices of early settlers.
The next day, students will tour Washington D.C., where the focus will switch to the contemporary with visits to the U.S. Senate, the House of Representatives and the Supreme Court.
The day also will include visits to more historical sights, including the Capitol Hill district, and the Smithsonian and Holocaust museums.
The third and final full day of the trip will be spent honoring the memories of Americans buried in Arlington Cemetery and memorialized at the Lincoln, Challenger and Vietnam memorials.
The students, most of whom have never seen the Atlantic Ocean or been on the East Coast, are excited about the experience.
The thought of all the “white, tall buildings,” is overwhelming, said Fatima Magalanes. “In the night, it’s going to be lit up, pretty. I hope we get to be on the 25th floor (at the hotel) so we get a good view.”
The prospect of the trip has already added excitement to the U.S. history curriculum, said student Matt Barthaloic.
“When we read about it in a book, (Ms. Neely’s) like, ‘oh, yeah – this is what we’re going to go see in D.C,’ ” he said. “You see it and it’s, like – oh, it’s going to be sweet.”
Part of what has added to the pre-trip excitement has been the myriad fundraising that have motivated kids to earn money to offset the $1,691 per student cost of the trip.
The group has hosted dinners at four local restaurants, sold candy apples, run a jumpy castle party and had a fiesta night using donated food from Carnitas Michoacan.
The result has been that the students have raised more than $1,800 toward the total cost of their trip.
The larger achievement of this year’s successful fundraising set a precedent, said parent Mary Kroger, who will be one of two parent chaperones on the tour.
“I think we have opened a doorway for next year’s fundraising because the contacts we made this year were good contacts for fundraising,” she said. ”
