During their trip to Boston, 10 DCMS students from the 8th grade got to take part in many new and exciting experiences. The class participates in a school exchange every year. Grade 8 students alternate visits between The Brookwood School in Gloucester and Burgundy Farms Day Country School in Alexandria, VA. These schools then come to Eleuthera to complete the exchange. Below, Ms. Emma Sparrow (Social Studies and PE teacher) gives her account of the trip:
When we first arrived students met up with their buddies from The Brookwood School in Beverly Farms, MA. Instantly, the students got to chatting about themselves and the things they were interested in while sharing a pizza dinner at the school. Parents soon arrived and the students went home to meet their new families for the week and finally get some rest after a long travel day. The next day was business as usual and the students got to sit in on English and History classes, got learn how to play instruments during music class and even got to explore the “science gym.”
That afternoon, the DCMS students headed to the Science Museum to stay the night. Activities here included a planetarium show, which was a group favourite and an IMAX movie about Jane Goodall and her work with chimpanzees. Students got to explore all the exhibits, make models and sleep next to a full triceratops fossil. The teachers and students fell asleep thinking, “What if things really do come alive in the museum at night?”
On Friday, we headed back to class at Brookwood where we spent the afternoon in the science gym building structures and learning about the Brookwood’s beekeeping project. The next morning it was off to the Farm School in Athol, MA. Once everyone got their warm gear on it was off to chores. Everyone was up for the challenge Students helped do everything on the farm: from cutting wood to walking, feeding and cleaning up after different animals and of course helping the kitchen prepare our meals. The food was outstanding; especially the wood stove pizza, with almost all of the ingredients coming right from the farm. This was the one place the students also saw snow for the first time, wasting no time before making snowballs and having fun.
The remainder of the trip was spent exploring the Boston area with homestay families on Patriot’s Day. Although many students went to see the Boston Marathon, everyone was safe. Our last outing of the trip was visiting a local boarding school to see what may be in store for some of our students next year. We want to extend a huge thank you to all the staff from our various adventures for their excellent job and another huge thank you to the Brookwood School and families for opening their school and homes to us. We wouldn’t have been able to make this trip what it was without you and can’t wait to welcome you to South Eleuthera soon!