The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Smithsonian museums, national monuments, Gettysburg and Ground Zero.
These are just a few historic sites recently visited by 50 students from Central Kitsap Junior High.
Although the lights of Broadway wowed the students — "(New York) was amazing, everywhere you turned it was huge and different," said soon-to-be ninth-grader Logan Martin — the group's stop at the Arlington National Cemetery turned out to be even more inspiring than the musical "Wicked" in the Big Apple.
"I hadn't been to Arlington before," he said. "And oh my gosh, there are so many graves. It was so intense."
Which is exactly why the stop at Arlington was planned, said Chris Mygatt, honors English teacher at Central Kitsap Junior High School.
Last year Mygatt and U.S. History teacher Mike Fultz took a group of 25 students to Washington, D.C. While visiting Arlington they saw another school laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Mygatt and Fultz wanted their students to have the same opportunity. Mygatt wrote a letter to the cemetery, explaining Kitsap's military connection and the impact the wreath laying would have on her students.
Fifteen months later Amber Zuehls, Kathy McLaughlin, Alan Stackhouse and Riza Ugalino, four Central Kitsap students, laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The students were selected based on essays they wrote while in school.
"I wrote about how this would be another way to honor," those who have served, McLaughlin said. "It was a great opportunity."
McLaughlin attended last year's trip but signed up again this year because there were more destinations and because her father is a Civil War buff. He came along on the trip.
"He knows so much about the Civil War and he explained that all to me," she said. "It was so cool to see it in person."
As a chaperone, Bill McLaughlin was like a walking history book for the students. Seeing the history in person, in particular the trip to Arlington National Cemetery, impacted everyone, he said.
"It was a very meaningful trip and something the kids will remember for a very long time," he said. "I think they got an idea of what it entails to be an American and what it costs."
Walking around the cemetery, through the museums and across Gettysburg field definitely left its mark on Amber Zuehls, a rising sophomore.
"It made (history) more interesting when you actually saw it," Zuehls said. "It was better than reading about it in a book. To actually see (Gettysburg) field and where they fought, it was easier to picture it and how it happened."
A former history teacher, Mygatt said taking students to places that hold America's history is a great way to keep students excited about learning.
"These kids need to see Washington, D.C., they need to see the Constitution, they need to sit in the Supreme Court," Mygatt said. "To see this experience through their eyes was great."
Need Help? Call us at 1-877-304-7764.
Monday-Friday: 5am-6pm / Saturday: 5am-8pm / Sunday: 4am-11am