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8 HUMANITIES
History And Drama Tour To
New York And Washington
Charlotte Rogers, L6E
During the October half-term, sixty
students, ranging from the U4 to
the U6, travelled across the Atlantic
Ocean to visit New York City and
Washington DC. There were two
options for trip: Drama, led by Ms
Middleton, and History, led by Mr
Brennand.
Our trip began in New York City and, before
we even had time to unpack, we were
whisked away to catch the sights. We started
at the Top of the Rock Observatory at the
Rockefeller Centre where we managed to
view the sunset from one of the highest
points in NYC. From there, we travelled to
the famous Times Square, where the lights of
the many billboards illuminated the October
night. Our time in New York was jam-packed,
from wandering through Central Park on a
warm and bright autumn day, to gazing at the
magnificent art in the Metropolitan Museum
of Art, and to constantly falling over at the
famous Rockefeller Centre ice-rink. We took
a boat trip to Ellis Island, which was the first
stop for immigrants arriving into New York.
Here they had to endure long queues and
many medical and educational examinations
before being allowed into the USA; however,
it was all worth it as only one in fifty people
was denied entry. We even had time to
stop off at Dr Hunn’s favourite place, Katz’s
Restaurant, made famous by the film
When
Harry met Sally
, where we all gaped at the
size of the world-famous pastrami on rye
sandwiches.
A highlight for many of us was the chance
to see a Broadway show:
Natasha, Pierre
and the Great Comet of 1812
(which is
based on a section of
War and Peace
).
We were enthralled by the unique music
and performances, in fact, many of us
downloaded the soundtrack in the interval in
order to re-live those hours for the rest of the
trip. One of the more sobering moments of
our time in New York City was the visit to the
recently opened 9/11 Memorial Museum and
Plaza; the sheer number of names covering
the dramatic water memorials made us all
realise the huge effect that this disaster had
on the world. The museum was filled with
many accounts of the day itself and brought
many students, including myself, to tears.
After an exhausting 3½ days in New York
City, a coach and a mini-bus brimming
with students made their way south
via Gettysburg towards Washington
DC. Gettysburg – ‘the High Water Mark
of the Confederacy’ - is a small town in
Pennsylvania and was the location of the
defining battle of the American Civil War.
Here, the Confederate army went further
into Union territory than it had ever gone
before. It was also the location of the famous
Gettysburg Address which President Lincoln
gave on 19 November 1863 – “Four score
and seven years ago”. Mr Brennand even
persuaded three students to take to the
stage in the pouring rain and read out this
speech.
From Gettysburg, we continued our six
hour journey to Washington DC, where we
were greeted by the sights of the White
House at dusk. We had a guided tour of
the US Capitol and we even managed to
look into the Senate Room and the House
of Representatives on top of Capitol Hill.
One of the evenings in Washington we
attended the ballet at The Kennedy Centre,
where we watched a stunning performance
of
Cinderella
by the San Francisco Ballet
Company. While in Washington we also
walked the National Mall seeing the
memorials that line it, including the
Washington Memorial, the Vietnam
Veterans’ Memorial, and the huge statue of
President Lincoln, which was the location
of Martin Luther King’s famous “I have a
dream …” speech. A highlight of Washington
was the recently opened African American
Museum, where we viewed exhibits on the
lives and struggles of slaves. The icing on
the cake of our time in Washington was
the Newseum where we managed to see
sections of the Berlin Wall as well as an
exhibit on Presidents’ pets.
Overall, this was a fantastic opportunity for
History and Drama students and I implore
anyone to go on this trip if they have the
opportunity. Thanks to Mr Brennand and Ms
Middleton for all their organisation and to
the other teachers who came with us, I hope
they enjoyed it as much as we did.