8th Grade Field Trip to Bridgewater State University
On Monday, November 7, 2016, our eighth grade Apollos team visited Bridgewater State University. It was the brainchild of Ms. Tricia Flaherty, Ms. Cathy Kubek, and Ms. Nichole Flounders as we are into the third year of reading the nonfiction book, We Beat the Street about the three doctors.
In the story, these doctors work their way through school and college including medical school to become doctors.
When discussing college with our eighth graders, Ms. Flaherty and Ms. Kubek noticed that not many of our students had ever been on a college campus, and so a field trip was planned. Students got to walk around campus for a tour as if they would be in-coming freshmen next year.
What a sensational day of learning in action.
Next Monday, November 14, our Comets team will go and have their visit to BSU.
Thank you so much to all the faculty and staff who went on this trip as well as all the parent volunteer-chaperones. Thank you to our NMS PTA who helped keep the price down for students by supplementing the transportation costs. Thank you.
Please check out some of the pictures from the day as well as the students' own reflections on going on the tour and how they were influenced, inspired, and invigorated.
BSU Reflections
I really enjoyed the BSU field trip. I liked how the students got to do what they wanted when they were not in class and they had lots of places to study and talk with friends. The most intriguing part was that you could rent out cooking materials like pots and pans and such or that they had ping pong and pool tables. The most inspiring part was that people seemed self motivated and were able to do their work without someone nagging on them. In four years I want to be looking at top notch colleges and be able to have scholarships to go to many different colleges. I also want to be getting stuff ready for college and know what I need in my dorm so that I’m prepared. I hope the college I go to has a tight knit community.
-Annette
When we went to BSU there was many things to see and do but even with the taste we got of life there it looked great. At BSU there were many things that I liked and were interesting, but what I liked mostly was that there was food EVERYWHERE so if I was ever hungry I could walk five feet and get a sandwich. What interested me was the observatory because it would be extremely cool to go up there and see the universe. It inspired me when the tour guide said that the auditorium was unnamed and that if I went there and did something great that it could be named after me. After high school I see myself working as a programmer for a gaming company, preferably blizzard entertainment. BSU is a great college with what seems like a very active campus life that I might consider going to.
-Cole
The trip to BSU was very interesting and exciting. The whole visit intrigued me with all the things they have to offer and all the buildings they have. Another thing that was intriguing is that it has a relatively low price of about $20,000 which is pretty low for a college that seems to offer a lot. What inspired me was how much help they are willing to give and how their main goal seems to be to help anyone be successful and get to where they want to be. After high school, I plan to go to college. I don't know what I want to study, probably something with mathematics but BSU seems to have a lot of stuff with that. I don't know what college I want to go to but I want to aim as high as I can for potentially an Ivy League college but if that doesn't work out, BSU looks good too.
-Matt
When we went to Bridgewater State University we walked around learning about the different things you could do there.The thing that intrigued me was the criminal justice opportunity. It intrigued me because I’ve always wanted to be a police officer.So when I go to college that would be a cool thing to do. I hope I get into Bridgewater State because it looks really cool and I heard its really good.
-Myles
I liked many things about the BSU trip. One thing I liked was how you got to pick your own classes, choose what time they started, and what days you had them. I liked this because you can adjust it to how you want it. Many things intrigued me about this trip. One thing that intrigued me was that if you don’t like any of the groups on campus you can get a group of people and talk to someone to start a group. I think this cool for people who might not fit in as well. Many things inspired me about this trip. One thing that inspired me was all of the things you can major in. This inspired me because it made me see all the choices I have. I see myself doing many things when I graduate highschool. One thing I see myself doing is going to college. It might not be BSU but it’s definitely one of my choices.
-Cassadi
The BSU field trip was an interesting and fun learning experience. I liked being able to walk around to the different locations and I also liked the openness and the size of the campus and the outdoor areas provided for the students. I was intrigued by the many food courts and areas they had designated to it and the amount of choices. I was inspired by the many different classes they provided and the vast option of extra curricular activities. When I graduate high school I plan on doing something related to math and science such as engineering or something in the medical field. Overall the field trip to BSU was an interesting way to see what could be in store for us in our futures.
-Joseph
Our field trip to BSU today was a lot more interesting than I thought it would be. At first I thought it was a smaller state college that was only for people who want to become teachers but I was wrong. BSU is a lot larger than it appears and it majors in many different things. As our tour guide was showing us around, I was looking at how college campus students acted and they all looked very independent and serious about their work. I enjoyed how we got to be with groups of friends and how we were with larger groups so we could ask our tour guide questions together. The part that I was most intrigued in was the dorms. Even though they were small, they were decorated nicely and seemed neat and clean. I was also inspired by the statue in the middle of the campus of the youngest victim of the boston marathon bombing. It had a sign with a quote saying something about there should be more peace and happiness. The statue was inspirational and touching how the school does a lot for the family of the boy. When I graduate high school, I don’t think I plan on going to BSU because I plan on going to a medical school so I can become a sports physical therapist. I’m glad we went on this trip because it’s interesting to visit colleges.
-Jaida
Today, we went to Bridgewater State University and it was a great experience to see how a day in the life of a college student goes. My favorite thing that we saw or talked about today was the dorms. When I go to college I will definitely stay in a dorm because it a great experience and seems like a lot of fun. Another thing I thought was pretty cool was that they have over 90 clubs in the school ranging from trying cheese and playing video games. Depending on what I decide I’m going to do, I may or may not choose Bridgewater. Seeing all of the kids working in the classes really inspired me to keep working in 8th grade and high school to make it to college. I had a great experience at the college today, and i'm glad my mom could come and chaperone.
-Shaelyn
Today at BSU I saw lots of things that I liked and things that inspired me. Some to the things I liked about BSU were the environment and the amount of different majors. The environment at BSU was friendly people treated each other with respect and wanted to do whatever they could to help others succeed. Because of the different majors people with different backgrounds come to BSU so there are many different people who have different thoughts and ideas. One thing that inspired me at BSU was the amount of work that people contribute to reaching their goals. This inspires me to try my best to reach my goals. After I graduate highschool I want to go to college for mechanical engineering.
-Clara
I liked how there was a lot of commuting between classes and a lot of freedom and decisions to make. This inspired me to go to college because of all the responsibility and the decisions we have to make. I see myself looking for colleges and traveling a lot also trying to start my organization. Overall this experience impacted me because I learned new things about how colleges worked and how BSU worked. This also opened up doors in my life to inspire me to go to college.
-Hunter
At our field trip today at BSU I learned many things about college and what it’s like. Some things I liked were that they have on campus living and lots of areas to study. I also liked how they had tutors and places to get help with things like writing essays and doing math homework. The size and capacity of the campus intrigued me because it was ginormous. The diversity of the people there and the age range of students inspired me that anyone can go to school and get an education to help better themselves and there career. After I graduate high school I see myself going to college and medical school. I want to be in the medical field and be a registered nurse in post operation when I’m older so I’ll have to go to college to accomplish this. I don't know what college I want to go to yet but I can definitely see myself attending college.
-Erin
