Local Students Walk Nation's History

Editor's note: The following news release was submitted by Saint Bonaventure Catholic School.

From the Korean War Memorial to the Liberty Bell, through snowy battlefields and The Underground Railroad, Basilica of the National Shrine and Broadway, the 8th grade class of Saint Bonaventure Catholic School experienced first-hand the icons and landmarks of the nation’s rich history. The annual trip, organized by teachers and the company LEAD USA, took students to Washington DC, Pennsylvania and New York for an intense week of historic and cultural sightseeing. Students look forward to it (and often save up money for it) from the moment they enter Saint Bonaventure.

In an unusual spring snowfall in Gettysburg, the group toured the battlefield where in July 1863 Union and Confederate troops clashed for three days. A reporter from the Gettysburg Evening Sun marveled in an article written about the California visitors that while other tourists stayed in their vehicles the 8th graders were grinning and catching snowflakes.

Bringing to life important places and events covered in Social Studies, the 8-day trip had a jam-packed itinerary, while affording the students time to explore and contemplate. In New York City, the group visited Ground Zero and gazed at the names of the 9/11 victims, which are inscribed in long bronze strips around the recently completed footprint fountains.

On the bus back to the airport when everyone related something they had learned, one of the dad chaperones said, “On this trip and at Ground Zero, I learned that it’s okay for a grown man to cry.”

Many thanks go out to Marie Martin of LEAD USA, teacher and lead organizer Kathy Kustura, vice principal Janice Callender, teachers Mandy Jepsen and Donna Jakubowski and parent chaperones Steve and Angela Montano, Russ and Lori Buccola, Charles Falzon, Dan Williams, Doug deHeras, Laura Mulvaney, Elizabeth Coker, Paula Vasin, Peter Badzey, John Pierson, Diana Berbiglia, Mark Krebs, Sean Keegan, and Asa Fuller.