The Burgundy Fund helps fund field trips for students throughout the year. Field trips are specially selected to enhance the curriculum that is being studied in the classrooms. Read on to learn about some of this year’s field trips so far.

Junior Kindergarten:
The JK Chicks have been learning about “signs of fall” and specifically about pumpkins. They read a variety of books from the Burgundy library about how pumpkins begin as seeds, grow horizontal (side-to-side) on a vine rather than vertical (up), change from green to yellow to orange, and are in fact fruits! They picked their own pumpkin from the patch at Butler’s Orchard and brought it home to share with their family. The Chicks baked pumpkin bread, carved jack-o’-lanterns, planted pumpkin seeds and composted the leftover jack-o’-lanterns to help our spring garden grow!

We will go to Fresh Market in two weeks to shop for our annual Friendsgiving during which we will prepare a large meal for our families prior to Thanksgiving break.

1st Grade:
The 1st grade classes visit a local wetland, Huntley Meadows Park, three times a year. We take a long hike around the park and observe how the wetland changes with the seasons. We use all of our senses to experience and explore as we walk. We observe the water levels, the vegetation and the large number of mammals, insects, reptiles and birds that reside in the park. We also take note of the beaver lodges and dams and how they change. We can see how one species of animal can change an entire ecosystem, and that a wetland is an ideal home for many living plants and animals. The children write a reflection of what they have experienced when we return to class. These hikes help to prepare us for our overnight stay at our West Virginia campus in the spring.

4/5 Coopers:
The Coopers were delighted to attend “Girl Power! Celebrating Women in Music” at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC on October 24. The concert was a tour de force as all composers featured represented a multicultural array of women from the 17th century to our present-day such as Florence Price, Gabriela Lena Frank, and Pinar Toprak (main theme composer for the Captain Marvel soundtrack). This eye-opening performance brought our students past the stereotype that only men compose music. Highlighting the music written by women, played by the National Symphony Orchestra, and conducted by, yes, a woman, gave us a real connection to the neglect that women face in this male-dominated industry. Our students talked on and on about their experience at the Kennedy Center and how empowering it was for us all to see women showcased as models of musical excellence. Girl Power!

6th Grade:
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) program is based in the heart of the nation’s capital at the confluence of the Potomac and Anacostia rivers. While aboard the Bea Hayman Clark, CBF’s research workboat, participants test water quality, perform plankton studies, trawl for fish, and learn about the local features that impact the ecological integrity of the surrounding waterways. This is a unique opportunity to explore a hidden side of D.C., discover a diverse watershed of the Chesapeake, and investigate a habitat that few people are able to witness.