Our school serves military dependents currently stationed at Hanscom Air Force Base. Given their parents' positions, these students are often required to move quite frequently, anywhere from every three years to just about every year of their lives. These are not choices made by our students; they are sacrifices they make on our behalf so that their parents can make sacrifices on our behalf as well.
We don't want to just thank their parents for their service; we want to thank our students for theirs as well! As such, we strive at our school to give them as many positive enriching experiences as we can in and out of the classroom. Given they move about so much, we have put together this trip as an engaging, socially bonding experience that they can cherish regardless of how long they remain with us on base thereafter.
While in DC, we have tremendous opportunities to engage with the world their parents work to protect. We will meet with at least one Congressman who helps to maintain our beloved democracy. We will tour the Pentagon and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, reflecting on the military expectations and sometimes costs that come with being a soldier. We hope to meet with a Supreme Court Justice and visit the Newseum to see how justice and our media work to keep our democracy safe as well. In Gettysburg we visit a preserved battlefield, stripped of the glorification of war and reserved explicitly for the honoring of men who fought and sometimes died for our country. Finally, Hershey Park is our non-academic aspect that serves as a fun social close to our time together. This helps to offset some of the painful emotional feelings kids have knowing they may be moving away once more.
About my class
Our school serves military dependents currently stationed at Hanscom Air Force Base. Given their parents' positions, these students are often required to move quite frequently, anywhere from every three years to just about every year of their lives. These are not choices made by our students; they are sacrifices they make on our behalf so that their parents can make sacrifices on our behalf as well.
We don't want to just thank their parents for their service; we want to thank our students for theirs as well! As such, we strive at our school to give them as many positive enriching experiences as we can in and out of the classroom. Given they move about so much, we have put together this trip as an engaging, socially bonding experience that they can cherish regardless of how long they remain with us on base thereafter.
While in DC, we have tremendous opportunities to engage with the world their parents work to protect. We will meet with at least one Congressman who helps to maintain our beloved democracy. We will tour the Pentagon and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, reflecting on the military expectations and sometimes costs that come with being a soldier. We hope to meet with a Supreme Court Justice and visit the Newseum to see how justice and our media work to keep our democracy safe as well. In Gettysburg we visit a preserved battlefield, stripped of the glorification of war and reserved explicitly for the honoring of men who fought and sometimes died for our country. Finally, Hershey Park is our non-academic aspect that serves as a fun social close to our time together. This helps to offset some of the painful emotional feelings kids have knowing they may be moving away once more.