During the week of October 16th, both the seventh and eighth graders went on field trips. The eighth graders ventured out to Salem on the 18th, where some townspeople were wearing costumes and the town was fully decorated. Each advisory group competed to win a two hour long scavenger hunt. They ran around taking pictures of funny group poses and cool landmarks, entering them in an app to score points. In the end, Mrs. Leddy’s advisory won first place (again!). Students and teachers then drove to the mall for lunch at the food pavilion. When asked about the trip, students reacted with a lot of positive feedback. “It was fun. It was more of a 'let’s have fun' trip, and there was more freedom,” said Aimi Lee. In fact, the Salem trip appeared to be the favorite field trip of many students duing their time at WMS. “It was super fun to do it with your friends,” stated Imogen Campbell, who is grateful to have many friends in her advisory.
Two days later, the seventh grade went on the annual trip to Hale Reservation. Hale is over 1,000 acres large in a forest, with trails, lakes and tree challenge courses. Advisory groups each did a couple challenge courses, whether they were two feet off the ground or thirty. Each group had a counselor who helped to guide the students through their activities.
The seventh graders also played multiple bonding games within their advisories. Most students also loved this trip, like Sophia Nguyen. “It was fun,” she said. “I had good activities at Hale, a good counselor, and I have a good advisory group.”
However, some students did not find this trip as fun as others. “I feel like some of the activities weren’t for everybody,” said Nico Madias. This makes sense, as some students may not be very comfortable with climbing 30 feet in the air before plunging down on a swing. Also, some students felt that the Hale trip was not as fun as it could be because some of them did not have friends in their advisory group. “I think we should be able to choose who we go with,” said seventh grader Ethan Zhuang. “It would make the experience so much more enjoyable.”
Overall, the seventh and eighth graders enjoyed their trips very much. However, it seems that the main reason some students didn’t like the trip was because they weren’t with their friends, and this is understandable. Field trips like these give students a great opportunity to bond with their advisory and to learn. A shoutout to Mr. Brown and Mrs. Grozalsky for planning these amazing trips!