The seventh grade field trip this year will be a one-day trip to the Flight 93 Memorial and the Laurel Caverns. Students will first ride a charter bus to the Flight 93 Memorial in Somerset, PA, and then arrive at the Laurel Caverns in Farmington, PA. For the last two years, the seventh grade has taken an overnight trip to Washington, D.C. Prior to COVID-19, the seventh grade took a regular field trip just like the fifth and sixth grade do.
But why did the FMS parents change the field trip? They wanted to provide fun and educational experiences for the seventh grade, but also to be local too. But they changed it due to the fact that they wanted to keep progressing up to the eighth grade field trip to Hershey Park and Gettysburg. They also wanted to incorporate two subjects, instead of just one. The Flight 93 Memorial represents history, and the Laurel Caverns represents more science than history.
“We found that with two large class-wide trips back to back, two things happened. One was instead of having almost the entire class participate in the 8th grade trip like in years past, the numbers went down to about two-thirds of the grade attending,” Mrs. Kristen Evans, FMS Parents President, explained.
According to Mrs. Evans, they wanted to do a field trip that wasn’t like the fifth and sixth grade trips, but not overnight due to the costs.
“We decided Flight 93 based on its local historical significance, and the Laurel Caverns could be educational and interesting for students,” Evans said.
“I think that this will be a cool experience for the kids, and I am excited for them to get to experience both of these places,” Mr. Jim Culler, seventh grade teacher, stated, “But I am not sure where these two places tie in with the seventh grade curriculum.”
Although these two places will be fun to experience for some people, as Mr. Culler explained, it doesn’t tie in with the seventh grade curriculum. It ties in more with its own history, rather than what the seventh graders learn leading up to the field trip.
“I think different experiences are always a good thing; it’s how we learn. I’m glad the students get to go on any trip where they can learn/experience new things,” Mrs. Angela Post, seventh grade teacher, said.
During the field trip to Flight 93, students will learn about what happened on September 11, 2001. Such as the 40 passengers and crew members on the flight that got hijacked and died. And when they visit Laurel Caverns, they can experience the incredible caves and its history.
“I think it will be cool this year for the field trip, but I wish it was an overnight trip,” Kylie Dambach, seventh grade student, said. “Even with the changes, I’m still excited to go though.”
“I was looking forward to going to D.C., but I looked into the Flight 93 memorial in one of Mr. Culler’s assignments, and it looks like a place that I would enjoy going to,” Madison Capehart, seventh grade student, explained.
