Cosgriff eighth-graders' trip to D.C. offers learning opportunities in history, civics

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J.E. Cosgriff Memorial Catholic School's eighth-grade students took in the sights during their recent school trip to Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia.

SALT LAKE CITY — A weeklong trip to Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia at the beginning of May offered J.E. Cosgriff Memorial Catholic School ’s eighth-grade students a chance to tour museums and historical sites as a class.  

The trip was suggested by two parents who had fond memories of a similar journey during their eighth-grade year. To pay for the trip, the students raised the money by doing a variety of things such as babysitting, mowing lawns, yard work, working in parents’ businesses or in their neighborhood. The school sponsored a turkey Bingo to raise funds for Cosgriff T-shirts and sweatshirts for the students to wear.

The group had a full schedule planned through a tour group, but the day before the tour started was what the students commented on most, Assistant Principal Mary Thorne said. That day, which they planned on their own, began with a visit to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

“To compare our church at St. Ambrose to this huge structure and just to see all of the paintings on the roof and all of the saint names on the wall, I think it was just really powerful,” said Cash O’Brien, one of the students.

 Later in the day, they visited the Holocaust Museum. Thorne had offered the students the option of a visit to the Air and Space Museum instead, but they all chose the Holocaust Museum, which left a strong impression. “I definitely wasn’t expecting it to be that powerful and that strong, to see how people really suffered,” Cash said.

To prepare the students for the museum, Thorne, who teaches eighth-grade social science, assigned book reports on historical fiction novels related to WWII and the Holocaust, she said.  

“I felt like, with such a deep subject, they needed some kind of introduction” to the Holocaust before they went, she said. “It ended up being better than I expected. We’ll definitely be doing that again. There were so many connections made because of the book reports.”

Over the following four days, the group visited memorials dedicated to Franklin D. Roosevelt, Martin Luther King Jr., Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, the U.S. Marine Corps, WWII, the Korean conflict and the Vietnam War. They also took in the Smithsonian Natural History Museum and Museum of American History, Capitol Hill, the White House neighborhood and Arlington National Cemetery. In addition, they participated in workshops on citizenship, Congress and the process of creating good laws.

“It was really interesting to see how government works there,” said Thomas Dickman. “It was also really interesting hearing about how each of our states all have parts to do with government and how we all have representatives. It was really interesting to hear how us as kids can influence people and how our states are heard.”

Thomas was also impressed by Arlington National Cemetery. “I was surprised by how many graves there were and how big it was and how close the monuments and memorials are,” he said.

Alexandra Evans was fascinated to learn about the different presidents at their memorials. “Just to see how each president did different things was interesting,” she said. “Some had to fight a war whereas others didn’t have to do that. They just had to do politics and make sure they were running the country well.”

Lucy Jeffreys thought the Vietnam War Memorial “was cool because there were so many names there,” she said.

The group made a midweek day trip to Philadelphia, where they visited the National Constitution Center and the city’s historic district including, Independence Hall and the site of the Liberty Bell. Along with seeing the historic sights, the students said they enjoyed meeting other kids from around the country and getting closer to their own group.

Throughout the week the students were all well-behaved and a credit to their school, Thorne said. “They were so polite and so gracious. I got so many compliments from other teachers about my students and how well-behaved they were and how respectful they were.”