Pancake Breakfast

Thank you to all that worked so hard to make our first Pancake Breakfast such a huge success! It was wonderful to walk in and see so many 8th grade families working so hard!

 Thank you to all of the families that participated! It was a wonderful way to start the day.

Thomas Jefferson Memorial

Thomas Jefferson was born in Shadwell. Shadwell is present day Albemarle County, Virginia. It was April 13, 1743. His mother was Jane Randolph Jefferson and his father was Peter Jefferson.  He was the third president and he served from March 4, 1801 to March 4, 1809. He was educated at the College of William and Mary and graduated in 1762. He married Martha Wayles Skelton on January 1, 1772. One of His major accomplishments was drafting the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

The Jefferson Memorial was created to honor the author of the Declaration of Independence, our 3rd president, an architect, a farmer, and one of the most  enlightened men of his time!

By: Maddy

The Korean War Memorial

This is all you need to know about The Korean War Memorial. The War started on June 25 1950 and ended on July 27 1953. At 4am on a Sunday morning when The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK-North Korea) opened fire on The Republic of Korea (ROK-South Korea). A ceasefire stopped the fighting on July 27, 1953.


The memorial is a place of reflection and remembrance and recreates the experience of troops that laid down their lives in Korea. The Korean War Memorial is located in Washington, D.C.'s West Potomac Park, southeast of the Lincoln Memorial and just south of the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall. It commemorates those who served in the Korean War. Frank Gaylord was the principal sculptor but Louis Nelson created the etched faces on the wall. Frank Gaylord also made many other monuments like the Fireman’s Memorial.
By: Derek

WORLD WAR II

World War ll started on September 1, 1939 and ended on September 2, 1945. The main countries in it were:

Allies: Britain, France, China, US, Soviet Union Russia, Ukraine Canada, Australia.                                                                      

Axis: Germany, Italy, Japan.

About 72 million people died in World War ll. Sixty-one million of the deaths were on the Ally side and eleven million on the Axis side this includes civilian deaths.

                The 56 pillars at the WWII Memorial represent battles and territories that join together for the war. The wreaths on the pillars are the ‘arsenal of democracy.’ There is ‘the freedom wall’ that has 4,000 gold stars which represent the 400,000 Americans who gave their life in WWII.

By Ryan and Tes

FORD’S THEATER!!

Ford’s Theatre was originally a house of worship built in 1833 as the First Baptist Church. Ford’s was opened in 1863 by John T. It was used to be called Ford’s Athenaeum, but was destroyed in a fire in 1862. Ford’s was rebuilt the following year with seating for 2400 people. In between 1866 and 1867 the theatre was taken over by the US government. In 1887 Ford’s became a clerk’s office for war, but on June 9, 1893 the front part of the building collapsed killing 22 clerks and injuring 68. This led people to believe the building was cursed.

Abraham Lincoln was shot in box 7 by John Wilkes Booth on April 15, 1865. Booth shot Lincoln with point 44 caliber single shot derringer 10 inches from the head at near point blank range. Lincoln was seeing “Our American Cousins” when assassinated. Booth stabbed Rathbone in the arm and jumped 12 feet below. On his way down he caught the spur of his boot and broke his left ankle. Once landed Booth yelled “Sic Semper Tyrannis” which means always to the Tyrants then ran out the back door and make his great escape on a horse.

By: Lilah and Morgan

Vietnam War Memorial

When we go to D.C., we will see the Vietnam War Memorial. The statues were built in honor of all the brave men and women in the Vietnam War who either gave their lives or lived through those necessary bloody battles to tell their stories. They made their way back and should have been worshipped and treated as heroes, but were they? NO! American civilian protesters welcomed them home by trying to beat them up, spitting on them, kicking them, and disrespecting them. They were only in their twenties and thirties and civilians did that to them! I hate to think that some people around me are disrespectful and actually hate the Armed Forces. Disgusting isn’t it? Well, the people that designed these memorials thought so too. They designed and built the Vietnam War Memorials almost as an apology, although they themselves did not disrespect the soldiers in any way.

The designers of the Vietnam War Memorial’s motive were for the soldiers disrespected by Americans to salute the soldiers because they knew what a terrible time they had in the war. So they came up with the idea to honor our old troops (Veterans) by designing a memorial for them in 1982. There are several memorials including the wall of names and several statues dedicated to several different types of American people who served within the Armed Forces.

There are many types of memorials that are for the Vietnam War, but perhaps the most noticeable of all are the statues. Each are symbolic for different reasons and divisions in the Armed Forces at that time.

The wall of names is a list of all the soldiers who were killed in battle, missing in action, or killed by accident. Sadly. Many troops were caught in battle alive and tortured for answers. They were trained not to talk, so they would kill them on sight. It was horrible. But it happened so they honored their sacrifice by naming them on this wall.
By:  Scott and Michael

Jefferson Memorial

Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743 in Shadwell, Virginia. He was fluent in 5 languages and could read 2 others. He was a lawyer, agronomist, musician, scientist, philosopher, author, architect, inventor, and statesman. He was the 3rd President of the United States and the main writer of the Declaration of Independence. He also founded the University of Virginia.  He was married to Martha Wayles Skelton and had 6 kids but only 2 lived to adulthood. He home was called Monticello. He died July 4, 1826 at 83 years old from natural causes.

By: Kalin

The Jefferson Memorial is modeled after the Parthenon in Rome. Architect John Russell Pope designed the memorial after  Jefferson’s own designs. It was built in a way that would show Jefferson's contribution as a statesman, architect, President, drafter of the Declaration of Independence, advisor of the Constitution, and founder of the University of Virginia. Architects Daniel P. Higgins and Otto R. Eggers took over after John Pope died. Construction started in 1939 and was dedicated in 1943. Inside the memorial is a 19 foot tall, bronze statue of Thomas Jefferson. Around it, on the walls, are passages from the Declaration of Independence and Jefferson’s other writings. 

 

Here are some fun facts. Inside the memorial, there are passages of the Declaration of Independence on the southwest wall. There are writings by Jefferson about religious freedom, education, and institutional change on the other walls. The distance to the top of the dome is over 129 feet, and the thickness is 4 feet. The memorial weighs 32,000 tons. The design is similar to Jefferson’s home, Monticello. There are 26 pillars. The monument takes up 2.5 acres in the national mall.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born on January 30, 1882 in Hyde Park, New York. He was the 32^nd president of the United States.  He was the only president to serve more than two terms, and he passed important laws like life insurance and social security.  He was elected during the Great Depression and helped the country get rid of most of its debt.  On August 9, 1921 Roosevelt was diagnosed with polio, which means a virus caused inflammation in the spinal cord and leads to being paralyzed.  From then on, FDR used a wheelchair until his death from a brain hemorrhage on April 12, 1945.

The FDR memorial has four different scenes, one for each of his terms as president.  It was built on May 2, 1997 and was dedicated to him by President Bill Clinton and designed by Lawrence Halprin. There are over 7 acres for just this memorial and shows over twelve years of Roosevelt’s history.  The rooms have waterfalls, displays, statues, and a room recognizing Eleanor Roosevelt.  The memorial is located at the Southern tip of Roosevelt Island and the first memorial for FDR is at the National Archives.

Abraham Lincoln

                   

Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 in Hardin (now Larue) County, Kentucky. He was 6’4”. He was very smart but also possessed basic survival skill such as chopping wood. He had four children: Robert Todd (1843–1926), Edward Baker (1846–1850), William Wallace (1850–1862), Thomas “Tad” (1853–1871) and married November 4, 1842, to Mary Todd. He was originally in the Whig party, but then changed his party to Republican. He was in the State Legislature for about 8 years. He was in Senate for one term. He was an excellent lawyer. He became president in 1861 his presidency ended on April 8th, 1865 when his life was ended in Washington D.C. by John Wilkes Booth in a movie theatre. Some of his major accomplished were freeing slaves and protecting the Union.

His memorial was dedicated 57 years after Lincoln died. 50,000 attended the ceremony. Henry Bacon designed the memorial. The building measures 204 feet long, 134 feet wide and 99 feet tall, with 44-foot columns. It has white Colorado marble for the exterior, Indiana limestone for the for the interior walls, pink Tennessee marble for the floor, and Alabama marble for the ceiling. Daniel Chester French created the statue of Abraham Lincoln. The finished statue is 19 feet tall, carved of 28 blocks of white Georgia marble. Behind the statue "IN THIS TEMPLE AS IN THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE FOR WHOM HE SAVED THE UNION THE MEMORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN IS ENSHRINED FOREVER." is engraved.

The memorial has 36 Doric columns outside, symbolizing the states in the Union at Lincoln's death. On the 36 columns they have the state names. There are two chambers next to the main statue that have a speech in each. The first chamber has his Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863. The second chamber has his second inaugural address on March 4, 1865.

Some other interesting things about the memorial is that 3,600,000 visit this site yearly. The statue of Lincoln weighs 175 tons and took them 3 years to just carve his head, every detail had to be perfect. Also, if you look closely for the word “FUTURE” that was originally carved as “EUTURE.” It would have been too expensive to re-carve the entire wall so the mistake was simply filled in but is still noticeable. Lastly, The 58 steps of the Lincoln Memorial sit 1.9 miles directly west of the United States Capitol. 2 of these steps represent the 2 terms of office Abe Lincoln served as President and the remaining 56 steps represent Lincoln’s age when he was assassinated.
By: Riley and Alyssa

Check Out Last Year's Trip

We are getting excited for our trip. We leave in 90 days! Check out last year's trip: Class of 2010 Blog

The Washington Monument

George Washington was born on February 22, 1732 and he died December 14, 1799. In his life he was a great man. He led the army of the revolution to split off from Britain and he was the first president of America. His major accomplishments are leading his army to victory and being the first president of America.

The Washington Monument is long and tall. It is located right next to the reflection pool so it looks like there are two. It was made by Robert Mills who made it look like a Greek column. Right next to this monument is the WWII memorial and the Lincoln monument.

By: Garrett and Henry

Iwo Jima Memorial

The Iwo Jima Memorial inspired sculptor Felix de Weldon. He made the statue out of Bronze. It is the largest bronze statue in the world. It was brought to Washington D.C in September 1954 and was paid for by donations. At the 179th Marines anniversary the statue was dedicated to President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The figures are 32ft tall. They raise a 60ft flag pole that is placed on a 10ft high base. Most people who see the memorial see it is a true work of art.

 By Alex and Jason

The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15,1929. He graduated high school at 15. He got his B.A. degree at Morehouse College and studied theology at Crozer Theological Seminary. There he got his doctorate in 1955. He later married Coretta Scott and had two boys and two girls. Martin became a pastor at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Alabama. He was a member of the executive committee of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People which was a very popular committee. A bus boycott he was involved in lasted 382 days. Finally, all Americans could ride the bus equally. During this, Martin’s house was bombed, he was arrested, but became known as a fearless black leader. Years later he was traveling around the country giving numerous speeches. His most famous was “I had a dream…”. At age 35, Martin, was the youngest man to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. The night of April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of his hotel room in Memphis, Tennessee he was killed. He lived a tremendous life and was an inspiration to many. 

His memorial is still being built in Washington DC. The picture below shows the model of what it will look like by Fall 2011. It will be across the lake from the Jefferson Memorial. The actual memorial will be filled with cherry trees and lots of other zen plants. The designers wanted it to be very peaceful so people can reflect on all Dr. King has accomplished.

By: Natalie

Arlington Cemetery

Good News! We have been working on booking appointments for our trip. This week we received confirmation that we will be able to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Look for more details to come!
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier