Grades 7 and 8 Overnight Trips

Our Grade 7 and 8 students enjoyed culminating end-of-year overnight trips that related to their studies. Most exciting was the return of our traditional Grade 8 trip to Georgia and Alabama for a pilgrimage to Civil Rights sites and memorials.

Grade 7 students traveled to Philadelphia for a two-day, one-night overnight primarily focused on the Constitution and early American history. While visiting several museums and historical sites, students considered the governing document of our nation, its creation, importance, evolution, and interpretation over time. They also went to the African American Museum in Philadelphia, the first museum of African American history in the United States built and funded by a major municipality, which offers another look at our nation's history. In addition to their history studies, students also visited the Franklin Institute as an extension of their studies in science. The exhibits on the brain and the heart were especially compelling!

Grade 8 students traveled for a three-day, two-night visit to Atlanta, Birmingham, Montgomery, and Selma. Students visited two important sites built by the Equal Justice Initiative: The Legacy Museum and the profoundly moving National Memorial for Peace and Justice. They walked the Edmund Pettus Bridge, visited the 16th St. Baptist Church, Kelly Ingram Park, and the Birmingham Civil Rights Museum, extending their studies from school into the places and spaces where the history happened. Students also took in a Montgomery  Biscuits baseball game as part of their evening entertainment. The trip served as an immersive Civil Rights-oriented program that was balanced with time for enjoyment and celebration for the students before they reach their graduation in June.

Thanks to the leadership of our Middle School faculty and staff, these trips ensured two to three days that will long be remembered.