Registration opens for annual Washington D.C., Williamsburg trip





the annual spring vacation stu- dent tour of the nation’s capital, a 30-year tradition for local schools.

The weeklong trip to Wash- ington, D.C., Colonial Williams- burg and Gettysburg is open to area middle and high school stu- dents in eighth grade and above, according to Donald Zimring, deputy superintendent of the Las Virgenes Unified School District. Zimring is a longtime organizer of the trips, along with Tom Johnsen, a teacher at Calabasas High School.

The 2007 trip will be the 30th year for the educa- tional tour. It is sponsored by local teachers and has served more than 10,000 students.

Johnsen said that since the trip is a nonschool activity, schools will not provide any information. Parents will need to attend one of the five infor- mational meetings. The 7:30 p.m. meetings provide an overview of the t r i p , a slideshow of previous tours and a question-and-answer pe- riod.

Four of the meetings are scheduled for the following dates:

+Tues., Oct. 3: Willow El- ementary School, Agoura Hills

+Wed., Oct. 4: Medea Creek Middle School, Oak Park

+Mon., Oct. 9: Colina Middle School, Thousand Oaks

+Tues., Oct. 17: Sequoia Middle School, Newbury Park

+Mon., Oct. 23: Lupin Hill Elementary School, Calabasas

“We have learned so much from the past years that we have been able to continually fine- tune our itinerary to ensure the best trip possible,” Johnsen said. “The entire cost of the trip, in- cluding airfare, lodging, all meals, evening activities, sightseeing and tips is $1,310.”

Students will spend a full day at the Smithsonian Institution, including the National Air and Space Museum. They’ll attend a performance at Kennedy Cen- ter and visit several memorial sites, including the National Ho- locaust Museum.

Johnsen and Zimring have been planning the tours together for many years. Both said the trip is an exciting adventure for students and a tremendous edu- cational experience.

“We develop the itinerary as if it were a lesson plan,” Zimring said. “We know the students will have fun, but we also know that this can be an incredible oppor- tunity for teaching as well.”

To that end, pre-trip classes help students better appreciate what they will see and experi- ence. “During the classes we review ev- erything from the his- tory of the city to cur- rent issues before Con- gress,” Johnsen said. “When they arrive, they

aren’t just looking at buildings; rather they tering a huge classroom are entering a huge classroom geared for nonstop learning.”

The tour focuses on the Civil War and visits to the battlefield at Gettysburg and Ford’s The- ater are scheduled.

The Colonial Williamsburg tour has been popular with stu- dents. The town is maintained as a near photograph of life in 1775. “It is living history at its best and has consistently been a highlight of the tour,” Zimring said.

Organizers said minute-by- minute planning is the key to the trips’ success. That success is underscored by the fact that the tours are routinely sold out and have lengthy waiting lists.

“One very satisfying aspect of the trip for us is that some of the teachers who serve as chap- erons also participated in the trip as eighth graders a decade or more ago,” Zimring said.

Other area educators includ- ing Jim Benton, Phalba Thomas, Ray Ballard, Roberta Consani,

Marilyn Fine, Chris Sale, Ron Fornelli and Gayle MacNish will add their talents to make the trip one of the most memorable experiences possible for the stu- dents, Zimring said.

For more information, call Johnsen at (805) 499-1569 or Zimring at (818) 991-9059, or visit www.traveled2dc.com.


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