TBS Takes Over Washington, D.C.

The+entire+eighth-grade+student+body+poses+on+and+around+the+Albert+Einstein+statue+before+departing+D.C.+

Mr. Crisafi

The entire eighth-grade student body poses on and around the Albert Einstein statue before departing D.C.

Monuments, museums, and, of course, midterm elections. These were just a few of the attractions and events awaiting the eighth-grade class as it made its annual trek to Washington, D.C. this year. The entire eighth grade flew to Washington on Monday, November 5, and they returned on Thursday, November 8. The trip was a welcome break from school and a chance for students to dig deeper not just in terms of U.S. history, but also world history.

Mr. Crisafi
Anthony Pace, Alex Fleming Lake, Colby German, and Jasper Wright stand in front of the Iwo Jima Memorial.

A very important part of the visit was when the class visited the Holocaust Memorial Museum, the first stop on the itinerary. This was a really big part of the trip since many of the students’ and faculty chaperones’ hearts were heavy after the shooting in Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue the week before. Unfortunately, eleven people were killed and seven people were injured. The senseless violence was made all the more real after touring the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and seeing actual pictures, video, and clothing worn by the Jews in the concentration camps. For instance, the museum had many of the victims’ shoes on display to illustrate just how many people were killed at the hands of the Nazis.

“The museum was very eye opening because of what the Nazis did to the Jews,” said eighth-grade history teacher Mrs. Anne Franzen, who helped organize the trip. “The Nazis basically used the Jews as lab rats.”

She also said that “we got the extra experience of meeting a survivor of the Holocaust,” referring to Mr. Fred Kahn who was on hand that day to speak with visitors. Kahn never was in a concentration camp, but he and his family obtained false identity papers and traveled from their native Germany to Belgium in order to escape the Nazi regime. As a result, they went into hiding under the Christian last name of Lejeune. Khan even learned Catholic prayers in hopes that he would never be caught.

“It was a very special experience [to meet a Holocaust survivor] because the people who were alive in that time had to experience those things,” said Jonathan Skatoff. “If I wasn’t there, I may never have a met [a survivor]. It was very emotional seeing all the artifacts from that time [period] because there was proof people had really gone through it. You could see the things with your own eyes.”

For some students, the experience was more personal because of their Jewish heritage.

“It was really meaningful for me because I’ve always known how serious of a thing [the Holocaust] was, but the fact that people still understand the severity of a situation like that and want it to be memorialized is great,” said eighth grader Eric Levine. “It was a really impactful moment that meant a lot to me.”

Another important site the eighth graders visited was the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier,  a monument to remember all of the soldiers who were lost or who didn’t come home from the battlefield during the wars in which the United States has been involved. At this site, the students got to witness the Changing of the Guard and the wreath-laying ceremony where four eighth graders – Gianna Ajmo, Kaylee Wahl-Cox, Bryce Weisser, and Levine – had the honor of carrying a wreath donated by TBS down the steps to place it in front of the tomb.

“I was really nervous [to lay the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier] because the [military personnel] were really…formal, and they had sunglasses that made them really intimidating,” said Weisser. “It was an honor to lay the wreath, [though], because only four people got to do it. It was a moment I won’t forget.”

Mr. Crisafi
Eclaire Solano, Emily Pietruszka, and Katia Orsic recite their poem which they created from MLK’s Jr. “I Have a Dream” speech in front of his memorial.

Another highlight was the competition the students participated in at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. They competed as groups against their eighth-grade counterparts by turning King’s, Jr. “I Have a Dream Speech” into a poem which they recited in front of their peers. The faculty who chaperoned the trip chose the winners and two groups ultimately tied for first place: one group consisted of Emily Pietruszka, Katia Orsic, and Eclaire Solano, and the other group was  Alex Bories, Andrew Moffitt, Aditya Jasti, and Owen Nutter.

“It was fun to be able to win the [MLK] poem [challenge] with my friends because we worked hard on writing [the poem],” said eighth-grade student Katia Orsic.

There were also some aspects of this year’s trip that differed from years past. For example, the eighth-grade students and faculty stayed at the Crowne Plaza in the Crystal City section of the capital, an upgrade from the hotel near the Iwo Jima Memorial where the class stayed in years past. At the hotel, students were grouped into fours with their friends; the boys stayed on one floor while the girls were on another. Also, the class went bowling as a fun activity instead of attending a Washington Wizards basketball game, which the eighth graders did last year.

“It was really fun to go bowling because Jasper [Wright] broke one of the railings,” said eighth-grade student Alex Fleming Lake.

“I enjoyed bowling,” said Skatoff. “It was fun to have a fun experience with my friends [and] it was a good break from learning.”

Unfortunately, there was no White House tour this year as President Donald Trump called for an emergency meeting after the midterm election results (state and national elections took place during the Tuesday the class was in D.C.). The Democrats took control of the House of Representatives after the elections, and the Republicans maintained their hold on the Senate.  

Still, many of the eighth graders enjoyed their visit to the nation’s capital, and it was a trip they won’t soon forget. They were fortunate to tour the Smithsonian Museums and other  memorials like the Lincoln, Korean, Vietnam, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, and Pentagon 9/11.

“The FDR Memorial [was my favorite] because it was really pretty and really well-done,” said eighth grade student Maddie Domnick. “It had amazing statues.”

“My favorite part about D.C. was seeing all [of] the different memorials like the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial because it’s good to see great people who helped America,” said eighth grader Ryan Motto.