Post Trip Reflections

I typically like to wait at least a day to reflect on the trip because I want to reflect on things when I'm a little more rested. In general this year's trip was very successful. We have Mother Nature to thank for absolutely perfect weather. This fact that we didn't even have a drop of rain made it so we were constantly on time for everything. We did have to switch bus drivers on Friday night which set us back about a half hour which resulted in us not going to the zoo but that was only put there if we had some extra time. It was never intended to be part of our itinerary.

It's true, one of our primary purposes of this trip is to show the students some very cool sights; however, on a deeper level it's about much more. One of my chaperones called this experience a "LiL Trip". LiL meaning "Lessons in Life". There are a lot of great life lessons we can teach while we're on this trip that end up being great building building blocks that are valuable to become young adults. As I've been doing this trip over the years I observe many other groups of eighth graders from other schools who act like complete fools. It's obvious that these schools do not hold their students to the high expectations we do. I can't tell you how proud I am of Oakview students each year. Are we perfect? No, but we use any mistakes students make as valuable teachable moments. We really find that kids come back from the trip a little more mature than they entered the trip.

We had an excellent group of adults on this year's trip. We had seven parents who very very supportive and shared in the vision I have for the trip. I want to give a special thanks to my fellow co-workers Miriam Hamilton and Leann Maddox. They have an excellent rapport with students that help create an ideal culture. I am grateful that Bill Hitchcock who is my football coaching partner and his son Brennan who is a senior in high school were able to join us for a third year. Again, they have a fantastic rapport with students and help them work at a higher level. The Hitchcocks have also given me valuable feedback to use for future trips. My last thanks go out to Dan Steakley. This was Dan's fifth D.C. trip but more importantly, for the second straight year, Dan has been the leader of bus 2 and does a fantastic job with it. Dan isn't only valuable on the trip, he and I look at each year's itinerary with a fine tooth comb which helps the trip go so seamlessly.

I would be remiss if I didn't thank all of the parents for entrusting us with their pride and joys. I also want to thank all family members who helped pay for this trip. Trust is the cornerstone of this trip. We work diligently to deliver everything we promise and more so it means a great deal that so many families continue to trust us! That means a lot!!!

The true gauge of whether a trip is successful is how I feel about wanting to do this again. When we used to go in April, for instance, I would vow that "this year's trip is my last." Right now I'm already thinking about getting my paperwork together for next year's trip so I can't think of a better endorsement than that!

Check back soon...more pictures to come.