Eastwood Middle School
6314 Mary Harmon Bryant Drive
Cottondale, AL 35453
Dear Students and Parents,
Your child is about to take a trip into the past. The sixth grade students at
Eastwood are about to take a wonderful field trip to the beautiful state of Louisiana.
The trip will only accommodate around 90 students and parents. The date of the trip is
May 19th, 2017. We will leave Eastwood Middle School at approximately 5 a.m. and
return approximately 8 p.m. Students will be able to call parents/guardians
approximately 30 minutes prior to our arrival return to Eastwood. The cost is $185.00,
which includes roundtrip chartered transportation, admission to the World War II
Museum, Dr. Wagner’s Honey Island Swamp Tour, a box lunch, and custom Eastwood
t-shirt. The permission form for this field trip is attached to this letter. If parents would
like to attend, they may for $185.00 per parent (chartered transportation, lunch, all
attractions paid, and T-shirt). Parents who attend the trip will be chaperones. All
chaperones must complete a School Volunteer Application and schedule an orientation
meeting with Mrs. Martin.
Our young scholars have been studying the sixth grade content standards that
focus on the history of the United States from the Industrial Revolution to the present.
Historical events studied by sixth graders include the rise of the United States as an
industrial nation, World War I and II, the Great Depression, and the Cold War Era. The
economic, political, social, and technological issues and developments from post-World
War II to the present have also been explored. Emphasis has also been placed on
economic, geographic, historic, civic and governmental changes that have influenced
every aspect of life during these events, including communication and technological
advances, reorganization of national boundaries, and the movement of the United
States into the role of world leader, so we found it only fitting that we visit the beautiful
World War II museum. The National WWII Museum’s exhibits cover the epic and global
scale of the war that changed the world, in a voice that is intimate and personal right in
the heart of New Orleans. Exhibits not only highlight the role of world leaders, but also
the everyday men and women who found the strength and courage to accomplish the
extraordinary.
Our students will view Beyond All Boundaries (about 3 hours) in 4D (similar to an
IMAX movie experience) and learn many interesting facts about WWII! Beyond All
Boundaries, showing exclusively in The National WWII Museum’s Solomon Victory
Theater, is a 4D journey through the war that changed the world. This Museumproduced film experience is narrated by executive producer Tom Hanks, with Phil
Hettema serving as show producer and creative director. Beyond All Boundaries
features dazzling effects, CGI animation, multi-layered environments, and first-person
accounts from the trenches to the Home Front read by Brad Pitt, Tobey Maguire, Gary
Sinise, Patricia Clarkson, Wendell Pierce and more. Elements of Beyond All Boundaries
may aggravate certain medical conditions. These elements include loud noises, flashing
lights, fog effects, and sudden chair movements. Stationary seating is available. To
assist hearing impaired guests, Assisted Listening Devices are available for Beyond All
Boundaries. Please inquire at the Visitor Services desk in the Solomon Victory Theater.
If you require sign language interpretation services for the film, please email
[email protected] at least 48 hours prior to your arrival.
After the movie, we have lunch scheduled at the museum’s function room. The
box lunch will include a sandwich, chips, fruit, and bottled water.
After leaving the museum, the students will travel a short distance to explore the
swampland and bayou (lasting about 3 hours) that protect the city of New Orleans! This
educational (yet still exciting!) tour will take place by boat. Native guides will reveal the
mysteries of the swamps and bayous and the Cajun “joie de vivre.” Students will also
observe the nesting grounds of alligators, egrets, raccoons, nutria, and many species of
snakes. Some wildlife are more numerous during the warmer months of the year. The
students will learn why our wetlands are disappearing due to coastal erosion and man’s
efforts to correct the damage it has done and restore this vital habitat. Bring your
camera to capture the “bon temps” (good times) on the bayou!
After departing from Dr. Wagner’s Honey Island Swamp tour, we will stop for
dinner. This is not included in the field trip price. Students will need money to cover the
cost of their meal.
Appropriate seasonal and comfortable clothes and shoes are recommended while
visiting the museum and swamp. Comfortable shoes are suggested as the total walk is
a little under a mile. Heels, sandals, or backless shoes are not suggested.
The trip will take approximately 5 hours there and back on the bus, so it is
recommended that the students bring breakfast, snacks and pillows to make the ride
more comfortable for them. The students are allowed to eat snacks on the bus. The
students can bring their snacks in a small cooler or a bag. They can only bring
beverages that have a cap that can be sealed (a top that can be screwed on and off).
Eastwood Teachers will not hold or store any coolers. This is the responsibility of the
students.
The students can also bring electronic devices. All devices should have
headphones or ear buds, so that the noise will not distract the driver. Eastwood
teachers will not be responsible for any lost or stolen items. Eastwood teachers will not
hold or store any electronic devices.
Parents, please be aware that if your child is suspended within the window of the
field trip he/she will not be allowed to attend the trip. That means if your child is
serving a suspension on or is scheduled to be reinstated on May 19, 2017, he/she will
not be allowed to attend the field trip. No money will be refunded.
The payment deadline and the application for this trip is May 5, 2017.
There will be no exceptions.
This will be an extended day field trip with the students leaving Eastwood at
5:00 a.m. and returning to school after regular school hours. Students will be allowed to
call parents 30 minutes before arriving at Eastwood. Please make sure that you are on
time to pick up your child.
This field trip is designed to enhance your child’s learning experience and expand
on what is taught in our classrooms. We have attached the Alabama Course of Study
Science and Social Studies Standards to show how this field trip correlates with what is
being taught in the classroom. This will be an experience that the students will share
and remember a lifetime.
Thank you,
Eastwood Middle School Sixth Grade Teachers