(Photo courtesy Westside School)
Field trips come in all sizes. This one for Westside School (WSB sponsor) was pretty big, providing students a chance to follow in explorers Lewis and Clark‘s foosteps:

Recently, twenty 5th-grade Westside School middle-school students went on an overnight field trip to Fort Clatsop, in Astoria Oregon, to enhance their understanding of Lewis and Clark’s Corps. of Discovery. Their social studies unit focused on the Louisiana Purchase and Thomas Jefferson’s desire to explore a water route to the Pacific.

After leaving school at 8 am on Thursday and arriving in Astoria by lunchtime, students visited the fort and completed a tour and research session. Later that evening, the group took a stroll on the beach and experienced the sun setting, over the Pacific Ocean. Teacher Glyn Jenkins observed two of his students sitting on a log with their eyes closed. He was curious and asked about their thoughts. “We are listening to the waves, wind, and bird sounds, just like Lewis & Clark must have,” they said, and closed their eyes again and smiled. Later the 5th graders conducted a group reflection activity, where they explained what they appreciated most about the Lewis and Clark expedition. On Friday morning, the trip continued to the Interpretive Center at Cape Disappointment, where the students completed a fact finding mission, which provided information for a play that they wrote, upon returning to school. The play will be performed at the end of the winter term.

Families interested in Westside are invited to an “Information Night” tomorrow (6-7:30 pm Thursday 12/1) for students entering 5th, 6th, and 7th grade next school year. Besides Q/A time, students will participate in an interactive activity to demonstrate Westside’s experiential curriculum. (7740 34th Ave SW); if you have questions, you’re welcome to contact Westside’s Director of Admission David Bergler at davidb@westsideschool.org or (206) 932-2511.