Every year, our 8th Graders go on a trip to Washington DC to explore the nation’s capital. This year’s trip was scheduled very close to the end of the school year, just when lots of year-end details had to be settled. One area we needed to address was our 9th Grade student council elections. It is our habit to have the 8th Graders choose their student council executive prior to the beginning of their freshman year – to ensure their 9th Grade team is up and ready on the first day of the new year. So, last year, we decided to take advantage of our trip to DC and include the student council election speeches such that they would occur in the home of our national government.

I am not going to pretend that we created this plan to coincide with our trip. It was definitely a matter of necessity. But, it couldn’t have worked out better.

It was awesome!

Having the candidates deliver their speeches against a backdrop of historic national monuments was amazing. For instance, a number of students delivered speeches right on the spot where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his historic “I Have a Dream” address. And, our candidates for class president delivered their appeals in front of the White House.

Our candidates rose to the occasion. The speeches, normally a little routine and nervously delivered here at school, were suddenly projected with a degree of passion appropriate to the surroundings.  

What happened out of necessity has definitely become part of our plans each year!

Hi 5!