Sixteen
junior and senior students from Yorba Linda High School will be among
a history-making crowd of two to three million people expected to
view the inauguration of Donald Trump as the country's 45th
president next month.
The
students, chaperoned by a teacher and two parents, will spend five
days in Washington, D.C., and tour a number of historic sites,
including Arlington National Cemetery, the National Archives, the
Smithsonian museums, several monuments and the National Mall.
The
Jan. 18-22 field trip will view the inauguration ceremony and parade
Jan. 20 and join other students in the evening to discuss
experiences, as organized by World Stride Tours.
“The
students will remember this event the rest of their lives,”
Principal Dave Flynn told Placentia-Yorba Linda school trustees in a
memo seeking approval for the trip, planned before the outcome of the
election was known.
The
group will stay at the Marriot Hotel in Arlington, Virginia, and miss
three school days. The only cost to the district will be $414 for a
substitute teacher. Coincidentally, trustees approved the trip at a
meeting the night of the election, Nov. 8.
Three
other interesting history-related field trips have been approved for
students:
--All
180 eighth-grade students in the magnet Gifted and Talented Education
program at Kraemer Middle School will participate in a day-long
living history event on the Civil War, scheduled for May 11 at
Riley's Farm in Oak Glen.
Students
will participate in a state rights debate; vote on whether to secede,
join the union or stay neutral; and visit workshops with topics on
school of the soldier, general mercantile, camp life, the
agricultural south, the surgeon, etiquette, the war at home and
marching.
After
experiencing a soldier's food ration – and their own sack lunches –
students will witness a mock battle and gather for closing
discussions.
Principal
Keith Carmona reported to trustees that field experiences have been
one of the strengths of the district's magnet GATE program. This
year, they opted “to stay in the local area” to reduce costs “so
that more students might participate in a truly unique and exciting
educational program,” he noted.
--Fifth
grade students at Fairmont Elementary School will participate in a
one-day event at Colonial Chesterfield, also at Riley's Farm, June 13
on “the personal impact and economic hardships of the American
Revolution.”
The
144 students “will participate in the living exploration of the
American Revolutionary War with six to eight dramatic and cultural
workshops,” Principal Cindy Fox reported. They'll also view two
mock battle scenarios.
--Also
traveling to Colonial Chesterfield will be 62 fourth-grade students
from Mabel Paine Elementary School Jan. 19 for a one-day California
gold rush event, with recreations of gold mining, panning, sluice box
operation, assaying and camp life, Principal Tamara Beeuwsaert
reported.