The D.C trip is back, after a break of three years, with little to no change in traditions, from rooming to students getting lost and everything in between.

In 1974, when Woodward was the middle school, the D.C trip was started by Mr. Smith, the vice principal at the time. This year’s  D.C trip is going to be in Washington D.C from November 8th to November 11th. The 8th graders are prepared by their Social Studies teachers, so they can learn more about what they are going to be seeing.

We interviewed Mr. Lavoie, the assistant superintendent of operations, about the trip to D.C  He has been going on the trips from 2001 to 2019, when the trip stopped due to Covid. “How will this trip differ from past trips?” We asked. “The hope is that it won’t, we hope this trip will be like past ones because those trips were very exciting,” he replied. We asked, “What has changed on this trip compared to past trips?” He responded, “Nothing new has been added, but things have been removed. Everyday is different with the tours. The trip is hoped to be as similar to the past trips as possible.”

The rooming system is very important to have smooth running of the D.C trip. All the eighth graders going on the trip will fill out a form about who they want to room with. Then, the adults will compare the rooming slips. They will try to put students in rooms with at least one person they want to room with. If they aren’t rooming with anybody they picked, they will,at least, get to sit with them on the bus. 

When in the hotel room, the curfew is 9:00 pm with lights out at 10:00 pm. Kids will have to wake up between 6:00 am to 6:30 am to get ready for the day in time for breakfast, which is at 7:00 am. 

The cost for this trip is about $1,500. However, some students can’t afford it, so there is an SOS scholarship fund. Part of the expense is flying both ways. The school really leans on families to raise money for the trips. 

The amount of students is essential to the trip. The minimum number  of students going on these trips is forty students; any less than that, and they won’t be able to go. This year, 120 students are going, along with Mrs. Bowker, the previous nurse. There will be a chaperone to student ratio of 1 to 10.

Getting lost on the D.C trip is an interesting topic, for if someone got lost it could be hard to find them again. For this reason, everyone wears a wristband with a phone number on it. The wristband has a phone number on it that students should call if they get lost.“Students do not get lost often at all. In fact only one for this [2023] trip,” stated Mr. Lavoie. It is a high responsibility trip.

Lastly, some highlights of the D.C trips are the tours the students will get to go on. The school hires a tour company that takes students to different monuments, so that the students can get the best experience. They also get to experience a sit down dinner at least once on the trip. Another exciting moment is the changing of the guard. Two girls (Campbell Hurley, Hadley  Anglim) and two boys (Roger McGuire, Adam DeAngelis) were selected based on who the teachers think is the best fit. You cannot have your phone out at certain monuments and places, like inside the capitol building and on the plane. 

Overall the D.C trip is an amazing experience for Trottier’s eighth graders. There are many monuments, and exciting opportunities.