South Valley students will host a night of food and shopping
By Kelly Savio Staff Writer
Gilroy – In an effort to see the nation’s capitol and get the civics lesson of a lifetime, 8th grade students at South Valley Middle School are fundraising like crazy to help pay for a Spring Break field trip to Washington D.C. and colonial Williamsburg, Va.
“Many schools across the country send their eighth grade students on a field trip to Washington D.C., but South Valley Middle School has never done it before,” said 8th grade core teacher Liz Neely, who is spearheading the fundraising. “I thought it was about time we got on board and sent our kids to D.C., too. I think it’s so important to see where our country was founded.”
Students have already worked at the Gilroy Garlic Festival and hosted an ice cream social to raise money to help pay for the trip. The cost per child for this trip is $1,650, and the funds raised will help many students’ families who will have a hard time coming up with that much money.
Monday, South Valley students can purchase five minutes of bounce time in two jump houses donated by a student’s parent. All proceeds will go to the field trip.
Members of the community can help these students make the trip across the country by making donations to the school, or by participating in future fundraisers.
Students will host Fiesta Night Nov. 3, where they plan to serve 300 patrons food donated by Carnitas Michoacan. Tickets are $10 each. Local vendors, including Gold Canyon Candle, Avon, Cookie Lee and Creative Design have rented space at the event, so ticket holders can dine and shop in the cafeteria/staff room.
“I think it’s important for eight grade students to incorporate what they’re learning in the classroom with the real deal,” Neely said. “We can talk about a memorial all we want, but this trip means they’ll get to see the memorial. It’s so different when you’re standing there, in front of it, and you can see the size and know what it represents. It’s something I think will be key to their education. It’s something worth trying our hardest to raise money for.”
Neely said she hopes to bring 35 students on this inaugural trip. She hopes to show them colonial Williamsburg, the Jamestown settlement, the Vietnam Memorial, the Washington Monument, Smithsonian Institution and The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum among other sites. The trip was previously approved by the district’s board of trustees.
