ACSA Visits Washington DC

April 26, 2011

A Very Long Day

Today, we visited some of the most well-known buildings in the world. We visited the White House and saw the room that the most powerful man in the world has gatherings, press conferences and ceremonies. The security was awful tight though. There were snipers on the roof, on the ground, and secret service agents everywhere. Their was also no photography inside the White House. And even if I did take pictures I don't think you would realize how elegant the rooms were. Each inch of wall and ceiling was etched with intricate carvings and drawings. Their was also actual, real paintings of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. After that it was on to the Capitol Building.

To get to the Capitol Building we took an underground tunnel from the Library of Congress. The Capitol Building had many statues and rooms inside it. I also stood where Abraham Lincoln sat in his desk when he was in Congress. Senator Murkowski's staff met our group and took us on a tour of the capitol building. We got to see so many interesting things, the most amazing had to be the rotunda! It was full of statues of former Presidents and other important people. The statue of Ronald Reagan had a piece of the Berlin Wall in it, because President Reagan was played a vital role in the removal of the wall. Each state has two statues in the capitol building, and we got to see the statue of Bob Bartlett, who was a very important person in Alaska's history.

The highlight of our day was attending a Washington Nationals baseball game. The Nationals played the New York Mets. We had some awesome seats thanks to a gracious host, Mr. Robby Brewer. Mr. HIndman said that the previous classes always sat in the nosebleed section, but we didn't. There was great food an entertainment (which included Mr. Hindman screaming)! We left the game early so that we wouldn't be caught up in the subway rush, and were separated from Daniel and his parents. It was a long but pretty awesome day and I enjoyed it.

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April 24, 2011

by Rena Sparks

Mr. Left-BeHind-Man

Today, On the subway Mr.Hindman, Alexis, Maise, Vickie

and Maise's Dad were standing outside of the doors to let people out of the crowded subway. Then the doors were slowly shutting, Mr. Hindman tried to put his hand out to stop the doors but that didn't work. He pulled out his camera to take a picture of Lacy's face expression when she saw what happen. So all of us met at "Friendship Heights." Becka created the name "Mr.Left-BeHind-Man." Before that we went to two museums today. My favorite one was the Museum of Natural History. There was so many different animals, from small to huge! The animals were not just pictures, they were the actual shape and size, it was and I quote from Lacy "That, museum is awesome!" There were many full-sized animals hanging from the ceiling, on the walls and on the floor. Also there was a little shopping store, there was this really cute backpack that was a lion, zebra, and many others. I wanted to buy one but they were $23 just for one backpack! I was really interested in the decoration and the way the animals looked, it was cool! So I took a picture of a tiger. The picture of Alexis and I was outside, it was so hot. Even Becka got a tan but I only got a little dark. I loved the gem gallery. There is many different shapes, sizes and colors. I got my mom a bracelet made of a lime greenish color, I wish I knew the name. After the "Left-BeHind-Man adventure we went to go eat dinner at Mr. Robby Brewer's house. There was fancy little appetizers for us on the table. Dinner was wonderful, there was medium rare meat, lasagna and these taco shaped type of food, some of them were filled with spicy chicken and guacamole. Klay, Daniel, Alexis and I ate outside. There was lovely flowers, they smelled like cinnamon mixed tea, delicious! For dessert we had pie, with cookies and ice cream. We were all full after all that food. Thank you Mr. Robby for wonderful food and thank you Daniel, Alexis, Klay and Lacy for letting me play ninja in the backyard of Mr. Robby's house.

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April 22, 2011

by Lisa Leeper

2011 Trip Begins

Hello 8th graders, ACSA students, and parents!

This blog will be available to all for the purpose of tracking the daily happenings of our 8th grade students while on their Washington DC field trip. Please make sure your comments are appropriate for a public school site and enjoy!

Mrs. Leeper

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May 7, 2009

by John Smith

Last But Not Least-John

May 7th, Washington D.C.

This morning we woke up to Mr. Hindman’s weird obsession to sing to us while we are sleeping. I guess it was necessary for him to sing to get the girls out of bed. We finished up our field trip by visiting the Franklyn D. Roosevelt Memorial, Thomas Jefferson Memorial, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Smithsonian National Zoo. The Franklyn D. Roosevelt Memorial is a memorial to represent his contributions to the United States during his presidency. The most touching part to me were the statues of men standing in a line. The men standing in the line represent the Great Depression, the men standing in the bread lines or in line to get a job. The best part of today was visiting the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. For one, I walked out of the Museum with a lot more knowledge then I went in there with. But with all that information in there, I only have half of the facts. I feel bad for the Jewish communities and families that lived through someone else’s vision of the perfect race. For Hitler himself didn’t pass for his so-called “Pure” race. During our visit at the Holocaust Memorial Museum we went through four floors of gruesome videos, pictures, and interviews of the Holocaust. On the third and second floor the exhibits showed and talked about where and how the Jewish people were held and how they had to suffer. In one of the interviews I listened to a Concentration Camp survivor that said to a fellow friend “Why are you praying to god. Right here – right now?”

“Because I just need to,”

“Do you have to? I mean right here, right now.”

“Yes, I have to thank God,”

“For what?”

“To thank God for making me different. For me not being like those people and what they do.”

He was referring to the Nazi’s and killing of the Jewish race.

“I am glad that he feels that way. To be thankful that we aren’t feeling the way the Nazis were,” said Kathy Pomeranz. Through that whole museum, I still don’t get why Hitler did that? All I know was he was a troubled person who thought he could make the world better, but created Hell for the world.

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May 7, 2009

by Nicholas Morgan

The Busiest Day in DC

Today we started out the day by going to the sculpture gardens at the Smithsonian museum. We saw many things that Mr. Hindman taught us about, including works by Alexander Calder and Roy Lichenstein, and I would like to thank Mr. Hindman for that. After looking at the sculptures we walked to the National Archives to look at the documents that form our government. First we saw the Magna Carta, which a parent told me granted the British citizens rights from the king. After that we went into the Rotunda, which houses the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence. Once everyone was done looking at the documents we went into a section that tells America’s history in sections. There we looked at many things, including letters to the presidents from kids. One of them was a letter to the President asking the government to not cut Elvis’s hair into the army style when he was drafted. Another one said that his mom had said his room was a disaster area and so he requested federal funds to clean it. After touring the archives, we went to Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski’s office, where we got a tour of the capital. The first thing we did on the tour was to watch a movie telling about the capitol building and its origins. After that, we were shown around some important rooms of the capitol building including the tomb, the famous dome in the middle of the capitol, and the old senate room, which they moved out of when the senate got too large. After that, we went into the viewing gallery of the senate room where they hold their meetings. Once there, we saw Senator John McCain and other important senators. Then we went back to Senator Murkowski’s office where we took a picture with Senator Murkowski and Senator Begich. After that, we spent a long time talking to Senator Murkowski about stuff in Alaska and Nome. Once we were done there, we went to the monuments and memorials around the mall. First we went to the World War II memorial that honored the men that died in that war. After that, we went to the Korean War Memorial, which is a black wall with pictures of people in the war etched onto it. I wonder when the US will put in an Iraqi war memorial for the people that have died in Iraq. Next we went to the Lincoln Memorial, which has the famous statue of Lincoln in a chair. Then we went to the Vietnam Memorial, which is a black wall with the names of all the people who died in the war. My grandpa was also in the war and was shot down when he was in a helicopter. The last memorial we went to was the Washington Memorial. Once there we took many group pictures and then went home for the day.

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May 7, 2009

by Robin Johnson

What a Day! by Dylan

I don’t even know where to begin with today’s day. We started out by going to the National Achives, for those of you who don’t know what that is, it’s where all our Nation’s documents are, such as the Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, and the Bill Of Rights.

Then we continued onto our tour of the Capital Building. We saw many things such as the spot where John Quincy Adams desk was while he was in politics. There was a story told that John Adams used to sit at his desk and pretend to sleep while listening to other people’s secrets on the other side of the room. Although this is possible today because the whole room is made of marble and your voice bounces from the floor to the ceiling and across the room, it was not possible when he was alive. This is because the floor of the room was then made of carpet and the ceiling was wood so the sound could not bounce through the room.

Then onto the best part of the day, in my opinion. We got to go to the Hart Senate Office building and meet Senators Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich. Mark Begich had to go to a meeting so we just got to take a picture with him before he took off, but we go to go into Senator Murkowski’s office for half and hour and talk to her, ask questions and such. We all got individual pictures and signatures from her.

To end the day we went and visited five memorials. These memorials were for World War 2, Vietnam War, the Washington Monument, Lincoln memorial and the Korean War Memorial. These were all very different, but all very touching.

Someone yesterday asked what the subways were like. Subways are a very popular way of transportation, to get in you have to buy a pass, we bought a weekly pass at the beginning of the week so we just continued to use that. To get to the subway, you need to take an escalator underground and use your pass to get into the gate. Then you would find your subway, which is a lot like a train. The doors open for all of 10 – 15 seconds before they close again so if you’re getting on you better hurry! Subways can get up to a speed of 40 mph, so from stop to stop it takes about 2 minutes, then your up to the door again so you don’t get trapped inside. Then back through the gate and up the escalators you go.

As you can tell, we got home very late and have had a long day. More will be posted tomorrow such as pictures, more details on todays activities, a quote etc.

Im off to bed, Goodnight!

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May 9, 2009

by Taylor Pomeranz

Rained Out by Taylor

Rained out
May 5, 2009
Police Memorial, Baseball game, Shopping

Today we got up early, like always and started another new and exciting day! First, we started with going to the police memorial, at this memorial Zach’s grandpa has been honored. Zach’s grandpa died in the line of duty, most likely dying doing a job that he loved. Janeen, (Zach’s mom) told Zach to tell all of us what and why we came to this specific memorial; he said “umm, my grandpa’s name is here. And uh yeah he died when he was a police officer.” Janeen then told us about how he died on duty.

Next, we went to a Washington D.C. Nationals baseball game. It was awesome; many of us bought sweet foam fingers, either blue or red. During the game, the TV would put up the word “CHARGE!” And then everyone would have to yell charge. Most of us did pretty good, but Mr. Hindman was a little slow on about the timing of it all. During the 5th inning they had a presidents race, Abraham Lincoln totally dominated! The baseball game was intense, it went in to the 11th inning, (really there are only 9). It was awesome; I have never been to a baseball game that has gone that long! The game never ended, we got rained out and then the game was done for the night. I want to thank all the parents for letting us go to this game, it was one of the most intense games most of us have ever been too.

Finally, we ended the day with shopping, wonderful right? Most of the girls bought promotion items, either slacks or skirt. We got back on the metro after 2 hours of long shopping. Everyone seems to have had an extraordinary day!

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May 5, 2009

by Zachary Sullivan

Washington Nationals by Zach

May 5th Nationals Park

Washington Nationals Baseball Game

Today we got to sleep in. It was sweet. We left the house at 9:30 a.m. and went to Starbucks. We had coffee that was very yummy. Then we went to the Policemen Memorial where we saw my grandpa's name "Timothy J. Sullivan" written in the shiny stone. After looking at his name we went to the baseball game at National Park. This is where we watched the Nationals play ball. Washington played the Houston Astros. Most of our class yelled "Go Nationals." It went into the bottom of the 11th where the game was tied 10-10. There was a presidential mascot race. It started to rain so the game was postponed. Who won? The zoo activities for the day were canceled because the inside part closted at 6 and we wouldn't have had enough time to see everything. On the way home we stopped at Union Station and we shopped. Then we took the train back to Alice's house. The baseball game was the best part of the day. Thank you, chaperones.

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May 7, 2009

by Robin Johnson

We're Super Freaks, We're Super Freak-Aye!

On May 3rd, 2009, another morning began with Mr. Hindman serenading the group- Super Freak by Rick James was animatedly sung by Willy. The rain and cloud coverage wasn’t a total inconvenience since the day was for the most part, spent indoor, aside from walking to the next buildings. We all had another eventful day going to museums. Our time today was divided mainly between the National Indian Museum and the National Museum of Natural History. The National Indian museum included floors with rooms that round and rove that were filled with countless ethnicities and cultures. Even ivory carvings where found from Nome’s very own Melvin Olanna. Afterwards, we walked over the to National Museum of Natural History and the students rushed off to start the scavenger hunt. The museum was filled with maze-like exhibits that seemed to all connect to each other that held the answers. Splitting up and getting lost [in history]; the students all eventually finished the questions and were able to enjoy all the displays. The scavenger hunt, for me, added stress and took away from the experience of the museum, yet I was still able to tie for first place on it and all in all had a fun time. On the ride home, Mr. Hindman pulled the supportive bar out from on the bus. (View audio file for reenactment of conversation.) Later in the night, Devynn played hairstylist and Becca and Kaylene’s hair were dyed a different natural-looking color, although Christine suggested purple. Thanks to chaperones for nagging[ :) ] because without them, we all probably wouldn’t have gotten a sufficient amount of sleep.

Description and Information of the Ivory Carving

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May 5, 2009

by Diana Handeland

First Day in DC

May 1, 2009

Seattle Airport

Washington D.C. Airport

Alices guest house

The plane rides seem to have lasted forever but we finally made it here with everyone.=]After flighing for a long time I felt really tired and so did everyone else, but to walk around for a little bit while we waited for Alice was nice. We got fresh air and it was beautiful outside hopefully the weather will be like that the whole time were here=] When we got to Alice’s guest house she was not home so my perspective about this was that it was fun to just walk around the neighborhood and see where there bus stop was. The guest house is really big it has a big tree in the front yard and a basketball hoop on the side.

At around like 9:30 Mr. Hindman decided he would take a little walk everyone in the house thought it was just to the 5 minute away bus stop. So about a 30 minutes later Doug went to go look for him and we found out that he went to the round about that was way futher than the bus stop.

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May 5, 2009

by Robin Johnson

White House and Embassies 5/2/2009

White House and Seven Embassies

Saturday May 2, 2009

“Tomorrow, tomorrow I love you tomorrow, it’s only a day away!”Mr. Hindman sang to the 8th grade girls at 5 o’clock in the morning. I was in the bathroom by 4:45am, getting ready for our first day in D.C. Our first stop, the White House. On the way Mr. Hindman probably developed about 20 bruised because of all the slug bugs that drove by. When we arrived our group was split up into two different groups and we started our self-tours at 8:30 a.m. and 8:45 a.m. The White house was beautiful, it was nothing like what I thought I had learned about it. Instead of hip and new, the White House was very old fashion. We visited the Library, Vermeil Room, China Room, East Room, Green Room, Blue Room, Red Room, and the State Dinning Room. My favorite room was the blue room it had; elegant blue and gold walls, unique ceiling molds and old fashion sofas. After the White House adventure we went to seven out of the 32 Embassies. Indonesia was my favorite one, there was life music, beautiful rooms, displays of the countries clothing, beliefs, and traditions. I wondered how they build the unique interments, they look like pots and pans tided together. It was 4 .p.m, and 9 hours of walking past drummers, homeless people, monuments, secret service men, embassies, tree, beautiful flowers, other school groups (and other groups), and occasional drizzling rain. After all of that it was time for Dinner. For dinner the kids ate at Johnny Rockets, while the adults went and ate Mexican next door. The food was 50’s style and within the first 5 minutes of ordering our food Diana choked on her milk shake, don’t ask me how, and nick spilt his full glass of water all over the floor. It is now 9:19 p.m. all our feet are hurting and or bodies tired but we are ready for tomorrow. It students are really hopping for a thunderstorm like the weatherman said, and the parents are all hopping for a nice sunny day. I guess you’ll find out tomorrow who got the weather. Hi to everyone at school, John said, “It was fun touring the White House and I’m not missing school at all.” Well sorry you’re not having as much fun as we are!

Devynn

The White House

Waiting for the Bus

The All Women's Percussion Band

Indonesia Music in the Indonesian Embassy during our Embassy Walk.

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