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Wildwood Christian Academy 6th Grade Tours Washington DC
St. Simons and Cumberland Islands Round out Upper School
Trips
By:
Melissa Lowrie
The Wildwood Christian Academy 6th Grade Class took
a whirlwind trip to tour our nation’s capitol during the
first week of October. Departing before dawn from Marble
Hill on a Sunday, the class traveled to Washington in
time to visit the Washington Mall and The Memorials.
The itinerary for the four day trip included the
Washington Monument, the Smithsonian Institution’s
National Air and Space Museum and American History
Museum. A tour of the White House and the Capitol were
also on the agenda. The last day was spent at the
National Archives, the home of the Constitution,
Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. Just
before catching a flight back to Georgia, the students
and chaperones witnessed a moving changing of the guard
at Arlington Cemetery.
When the students were asked the sites they would like to
revisit should they be in DC again, the majority of the
class picked the top of the Washington Monument,
followed closely by the Smithsonian.
Upon their return, each student was asked to write a report
about the trip. The following is an excerpt from
Stephanie Eubanks of Dawsonville. “…On our trip I
got a different feeling toward each place we saw. At
Arlington Cemetery I felt calm and quiet. It was sad
because you saw how many soldiers had died. But the
cool thing was that the white headstones made you think
that each man/woman was watching, like they were
angels. I felt like I was on top of the world at the
Washington Monument. In the Capitol, I felt I was
important because everyone wore uniforms and there were
so many businessmen around. We had our nametags on, so
I felt like we were part of the FBI! There were so many
things that made me feel special and important-
especially when we saw the star spangled banner. How
cool to see something that is almost 200 years old! I
loved all of the different ways I felt!”
The Wildwood 7th/8th Grades’ trip to
Jekyll Island, St. Simon’s Island and Cumberland Island
during the first week of October was equally educational
and exciting. The trip included a 13 mile canoe
adventure in the Okefenokee Swamp (in pouring rain), a
visit to Jekyll Island and the Georgia Sea Turtle
Center, as well as a day on Cumberland Island. The
students participated in many team-building exercises,
including a High Ropes Course, a rock climbing wall and
a night walk on the beach using their five senses
instead of flashlights. A highlight for the group was a
shark dissection. Brittany Baugus, a 7th
grader, in her own words: “The 7th and 8th
grade trip was such a learning experience for me. The
main point was teamwork! I thought it was so great when
everybody was working together as a team. It really
showed that if you can work together you can get stuff
done. This was an experience I will never forget. I
came away with so many things but the most important was
trust. If you trust in people, you will never back
down. You just have to tell yourself to never give up
and you can do anything.”
Upper School Teacher Leslie Head stated, “It was an honor to
spend five days with these incredible students. Mark
Barnett (another Wildwood teacher) and I were amazed
daily by the adventuresome spirit of our kids, their
desire to learn everything they could and their
dedication to each other. We were very proud of them.”
Wildwood Christian Academy continues to educate its
students “outside of the classroom,” by planning field
trips for every grade level, throughout the school year.
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