Students Embark on Class Trips

Students in grade seven went to the Durham Fair, an agricultural fair with music, food, and rides. According to Carrie Shea, Head Adviser of the Class of 2025, they started off the day by “looking at the animals and agricultural displays, and completing a scavenger hunt.” In the afternoon, students had “time to play games and go on the rides.” They “eat lots of fried oreos, win stuffed animals, and go on roller coasters such as Zipper and Scram- bler.” This trip has been a “seventh grade tradition for over twenty years,” and Shea hopes it will continue.

Eighth graders did not leave Hopkins for their trip, as they spent the day on the Adam Kreiger Adventure Course. Although the activity has been a tradition, Jocelyn Garrity, Head Adviser of the Class of 2024 considered changing the trip. She decided against it because she recognizes “the value of the students experiencing our own adventure course.” She believes this trip allowed students to “know and appreciate more of their peers.”

Similar to seventh and eighth grade trips, the freshman trip to the Big E focused on forming friendships. They spent the first half of their day in advisor groups, and the second half with friends. Daniela Rodriguez-Larrain ’23 enjoyed the trip: “For the first hour, my advisor showed us the fair and the different parts. Then we split off into groups and hung out with friends.” She continued, “It was fun! I got to hang out with friends and meet new people all while playing games and taking pictures.”

The sophomore class traveled to Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts, experiencing first-hand life in 1800s New England, and even participated in a town hall at the Meeting House. Each sopho- more was assigned a persona to formulate an argument based off of their person’s life. Talia Chang ’22 stated, “I enjoyed seeing the animals living an authentic life on the Sturbridge farm and seeing people working the farms just like they did in 1800.” History teacher Ian Guthrie provided an explanation for what he hoped students got out of the trip: “The goal of the tenth grade trip to Old Sturbridge Village is to provide Hopkins students with an immersive opportunity to explore the world of America at the time of the industrial revolution. By talking with village performers amd exploring the town itself, students have the opportunity to take in the sights, sounds, and society of small town life in the United States.” When asked about how to improve the trip, CJ Maiurro ’22 stated, “The Town Hall meeting was fun but also seemed kind of unnecessary, like something we could have done in class.”

The junior class traveled to New Haven to tour, the Yale Art Gallery and the Center for British Art. The students were split into tour groups and had facilitated discussions about specific pieces. They went out for lunch in New Haven, and came back to the galleries to analyze and write about a chosen painting. After their visit to the galleries, the juniors worked on writ- ing pieces during the following week in their writing semester class. When asked about how to improve the trip, Addie Priest ’21 stated, “I would prefer if I got to choose which gallery I got to go to instead of having to split time between the two.” Head Advisor of the Class of 2021, Marie Doval explained, “This is a multi-department trip where art and  lish are combined to offer the a way to see art and then write about it.”

According to Shea, class trips are an “engaging tradition.” They allow students to “get to know each other outside of class.” Garrity feels that students “get a lot out of the day and have a valuable and memorable experience.”