On the 13th and 14th of October, I joined the 10th grade on their trip to Storm King Art Center and Black Rock Forest. The chaperones for the trip were Dr. Burgess, Ms. Kilts, and Mr. Rose. Did I mention that I went undercover?
En route to Storm King, I took a poll of the grade, asking each of the 28 girls how they felt about going on this trip. 14 of the girls were excited , seven were optimistic, and seven were dreading it. Brooke Hassan ’14 said, “I’m not excited, but I hope that it can be as good as it can possibly be.”
After our time at Storm King, we had an extensive art activity at Black Rock, where each student was allowed to explore a way to creatively connect with nature. Students did everything from painting to photography to interpretive dance. During the overnight portion of our trip I spoke with Ms. Kilts about the trip. She responded, “I was wondering how well you guys would do with the art portion-if it would turn into just a goof off period, or if it would be serious work. And I was really impressed with how creatively and seriously everyone took it.”
On the way back, Ellery Kreloff ’14 said, “…this whole place that we’re staying at is completely sustainable. Like, it sustains itself, it’s good for the environment, and it doesn’t need any outside things. I respect that. It’s actually really cool.”
Overall, I think that the grade took the trip rather well. Aileen Cordero ’14 even said that she thoroughly and completely enjoyed the creative activities at Black Rock and wanted to stay even longer.
And thus, the 10th grade field trip dwindled, as the cold and muddy girls sat on the bus back to Manhattan with their heads against the windows catching up on the sleep they missed the night before and dreaming of the hot showers that awaited them at home.