CIS Jr. Beta Goes to D.C.

     Fifteen members of the Central Intermediate School 2012-2013 Jr. Beta Club partook in an educational field trip to Williamsburg, VA, Jamestown, VA, and Washington, D.C. on April 27-30, 2013.  They were accompanied by three CIS faculty members and five parent chaperons. Student participants included: Anthony Dupont, Madilyn Woosley, Camille Dean, Myrissa Eisworth, Raylee Browning, Sierra Hymel, D’Lanie Stevens, Payton Limbers, Aubri Watts, Alissa Clemmons, Brayden Posey, Reonardo Frost, Connor Rushing, Krystina Johnson, and Dayna Thomas.  CIS chaperons were Karen Hill and Ava Ellis, 5^th grade teachers, and Julie Stevens, Assistant Principal.  Parent chaperons were Stacy Davis, Falisha Johnson, Margaret Eichelberger, Brandon Dupont, and Robert Woosley. 

     The fifth graders were taken back to the 18^th century beginning with a walking ghost tour through the mystical streets of Colonial Williamsburg.  Students were captivated by the interpretations of a colonial-attired wig maker and silversmith, and were able to observe the conditions of a colonial prison.  However, what seemed to be the highlight of the students’ visit to Williamsburg was a dining experience in the cafeteria at the historical College of William and Mary. 

     The next stop in their travels was Jamestown, Virginia, where many hands-on activities were available to the students as they watched the pages of their history books come to life.  The boys and girls were able to encounter colonial life as they learned to garden like a Powhatan, cook over an open fire, tie knots like a sailor, and carve a canoe out of the hollow of a tree.  One student was even able to stand in the pulpit of a replica of an early American church building and deliver a sermon to all her friends.  The finale of their visit to Jamestown was a demonstration of a British soldier loading and firing a musket. 

     The final stop of the four-day tour was Washington, D.C. which began with a guided tour of the Capitol where students and chaperons walked through the Rotunda and Statuary Hall.  Each one had to take a turn standing on “point zero,” the compass stone in the Capitol floor that is the geographic center of Washington, D.C.  In two days’ time, the whole crew from Central viewed the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., FDR, Jefferson, World War II, Lincoln, Korean, and Vietnam Memorials. They also visited two Smithsonian Museums—the Natural History Museum and the Air and Space Museum, Mt. Vernon (historical home of George Washington), the Ford Theatre, and Arlington Cemetery, where they attended the solemn ceremony of the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  Though they were unable to tour the White House, they did take a group picture in front of the White House lawn.

     The trip would not have been possible without the support of the Central Community School System School Board, CIS principal, Rhonda Taylor, and the professional team from World Strides based in Charlotte, NC.  The students and Ms. Ellis and Mrs. Hill would like to thank the CCSS School Board, our principal, Rhonda Taylor, the parents who financed their trip, and the parents who chaperoned for providing us this chance-of-a-lifetime opportunity.  We came back with new friendships and memories that will last our lifetimes!