Photos and story by Catherine Stachowiak
Students from South Fork Middle School thanked the Kern Valley Exchange Club for assisting students to go on a trip to Washington DC. The teens gave a visual presentation before the group, Thursday June 6, at Paradise Cove Lodge, revealing what they did on their Washington DC tour.
The tour also included students from Wallace Middle School according to teacher Teddie Anzaldo.
Student Gavin Tippit said, “I’m one of the students who was able to go on the trip. It meant a lot. And I just wanted to say thank you all.”
Student Jaadyn Cleveland told the group, “I say thank you because I rarely get to get out of town. I had a lot of first times on this trip.”
Student Naomi Tapia said, “It was really fun, because I got to enjoy seeing outside here (the Kern Valley.)” Tapia said she thought all the places they went to were “sic” or basically “cool.”
The three students giving the visual presentation showed photo collages, other students who were on the trip joined in piecing together, to reveal their favorite parts of the tour. Students said their favorite parts of the trip were visiting the Library of Congress, the World War II Memorial, the Capital Building, the Lincoln Memorial, George Washington’s house, Arlington Cemetery, Thomas Jefferson Monument and the Smithsonian Museum where they saw a life size statue of a dolphin. They also got to see George Washington’s teeth and Bill Nye the Science Guy’s lab coat. Students said they also liked the plane ride.
“The kids really learned how to be respectful,” Anzaldo said. “They learned a lot in a short amount of time.” Anzaldo said she hoped the next trip, the school would go at Memorial Day weekend, rather than Spring Break, so more students could attend and they wouldn’t end up too tired to appreciate Easter back at home.
Anzaldo also told the club that combining South Fork with Wallace was very helpful because the groups shared busses, and both school’s chaperones helped each other look after the teens.
Anzaldo said that at the end of the tour the tour guides were impressed with the students and how well they behaved on the trip.
