At Whitefield Academy, our cultural trips are a hugely important part of our education. The United States is home to some of the world’s greatest cities, filled with museums, theatre, music, and architecture. These experiences are very shaping for our students, opening their eyes to new places and giving them a chance to exercise a little bit of freedom.

But what do we do when pandemic hits and these big city trips are no longer an option? Rather than throwing out the idea completely, our teachers decided to get creative with our cultural trips this year and completely revamped them all! So our tenth, eleventh, and twelfth graders made Whitefield history this year with some brand new trips.

Tenth Grade

Rather than the traditional trip to New York City, our tenth graders opted to explore a little closer to our backyard, the Great Midwest! Starting in Oklahoma City, Whitefield tenth graders took a riverboat cruise, rode scooters downtown, hopped on a ferris wheel, explored Bricktown, enjoyed the Myriad Botanical Gardens, learned about the Oklahoma City bombing, walked the zoo, ate Whataburger, and rock-climbed inside of a converted grain silo. After Oklahoma City, the tenth graders headed down to Bentonville, AR and enjoyed the Crystal Bridges Trail and the Crystal Bridges Museum of Art. They were all exhausted on their ride home; none of us had any idea there was so much to do so close to Kansas City!

Eleventh Grade

After missing their trip to NYC last year and their trip to Bermuda this year, Whitefield eleventh graders decided to find an exciting place where they could spend most of their time outside. South Dakota is what they landed on, and the beauty did not disappoint! Hiking in the Badlands, the kids were able to see buffalo, bighorn sheep, a wolf, and prairie dogs. And of course they couldn’t miss getting some pictures in front of Mt. Rushmore as well as the infamous Corn Palace.

Twelfth Grade

The seniors are used to getting to pick their own trip, but the last few years, the senior classes have decided on Los Angeles. This year’s group decided to mix it up and packed their vans for Colorado! Whitewater rafting, horseback riding in the Garden of the Gods, zip-lining and the alpine coaster made their days pretty full, but some of the students even climbed the Manitou Incline which gains 2,000′ in elevation from the beginning to the end. Some students also did the Via Ferrata which was a combination of hiking, rock climbing, and rappeling.

Thoughts from a Chaperone

One of our parents who chaperoned the tenth grader trip to Oklahoma, was blown away by her time with the students:

…These students are bright, thoughtful, polite, well-manner, creative, funny, and sweet! They love the Lord and are respectful when corrected by adults. They make chaperoning easy and a joy! … I’m thankful to have been able to watch them interact with each other and take care of one another. It is a blessing to witness students outside of their normal routines, having fun and growing into the people God wants them to be.

While these trips were not our usual trips, our students had an amazing time exploring our beautiful country, drawing closer to one another and closer to the Lord. We are so thankful for everyone who made these trips possible!

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