Relief & Sorrow

Today we start our long journey home. It is a time of relief and sorrow. I will be glad to get back to my family and the city I call home. However, I feel a bit of sadness for the end of our adventure. This trip will be forever etched in my memory. The looks on the kids' faces, the always constant laughter, the growing bonds, and the sites and smells of all we have seen.

I would like to thank all my fellow teachers for their hard work and sacrifice. Especially, Mrs. Robertson, whose hard work and tender care made this trip a wonderful experience for everyone! I hope you know that we appreciate all you have done for us! (And for putting up with us!)

I want to give a special thanks to the kids. I never could have imagined that such a wonderful group of young adults could even exist. You guys are truly an amazing bunch of kids and I am honored to be your teacher! I KNOW YOU ARE GOING TO DO GREAT THINGS! Thank you for representing us with class and integrity. (People took notice that you guys were a cut above the rest!)

Thanks to all the folks back home. It was comforting to know that we had a such a great support system and cheering section. When we were sleep deprived and tired of the bus, your words of encouragement kept our spirits high! Thanks for following along! We will post afterthoughts and more pics when we get back home.

Texas, here we come!!!

-Mr. Pearson

I'M NOT GOING HOME ..YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!!!!

WASHINGTON D.C. WAS AWESOME! I'M A HUGE FAN OF GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS. I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO VIEW DIFFERENT MONUMENTS AND IMPORTANT INSTITUTIONS. THE UNION STATION WAS SO COOL . THE TRAIN MOVED EXTREMELY FAST, YET I COULDN'T FEEL THE PRESSURE. THE WHITE HOUSE WAS BEAUTIFUL AND UNFORTUNATELY I DIDN'T SEE PRESIDENT OBAMA. THE HOLOCAUST MUSEUM WAS VERY TOUCHING. MY EMOTIONS CAME OUT TO THE JEWISH CULTURE. GEORETOWN UNIVERSITY OPENED MY EYE'S! I REALIZED THAT I HAVE FOUND MY FUTURE COLLEGE. THEY HAVE A GOVERNMENT MAJOR THAT WOULD ALLOW ME TO EVENTUALLY GET AN INTERSHIP AT THE WHITE HOUSE.

NEW YORK ....WOW OH WOW OH WOW !!!!!

IT WAS TOTALLY AWESOME. NEW YORK CITY SEEMED JUST LIKE THE MOVIES I 'VE WATCHED . THE LIGHTS, BILLBOARDS, TRAFFIC, AND CROWDS OF PEOPLE GRABBED MY ATTENTION. I FEEL NEW YORK IS MY NEW HOME !!! EVERYONE SEEMS BUSY AND LIVING A FAST LIFE. NEW YORK UNIVERSITY WAS REALLY GREAT. I LOVED THE FACT THAT YOU CAN STUDY ANY MAJOR YOU PLEASE AND BE ABLE TO GET A JOB OR INTERNSHIP IN NEW YORK CITY. THE STATUE OF LIBERTY WAS SOMETHING I WASNT EXPECTING. I APPRECIATED THE FREEDOM OUR COUNTRY HAS TODAY!!! I LOVE NEW YORK !!!!! UMMMM... IM STILL NOT GOING HOME .........
----VICKY

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
New York is fabulous!!!
Tall buildings, busy streets, bright lights, and shopping!
the buildings touch the sky, the streets are filled with different people.
I love the different culture and diversity.
China Town gave me an idea of china.
Harlem gave me a whole different perspective about the Jewish culture.
NYU was a great college spread trough out New York and made me realize how much you have to be on your own and have self control because going to school in a big city can be distracting.

-Rubi Reyna

Hello to All,
This week has been very busy, but field many learning and fun experiences. From Vanderbilt on Friday, March 13th to Hunter College tomorrow, March 19th we have seen colleges and universities, the National Capital, the White House, Statue of Liberty, Time Square, the DC metro (subway), the Lincoln, Vietnam, Veteran, and Washington Memorial (to only name a few). Tonight we went to see the Broadway Musical, Lion King. It was A-mazing! Well, we begin our journey back on tomorrow. See you all SOON!

Ms. Robertson

Wow!!!!!
So far, this trip has very few words to explain the outstanding things we have seen.
Yesterday we toured Columbia University, the NY aquarium, and we "FINALLY" had the chance to enjoy some Brooklyn style pizza, which was the best Pizza I have ever tasted. We are having alot fun and the student to teacher relationship has gotten stronger than ever. All this has been a great experience to have! We are all enjoying it and we wish you could be here to experience it.

Juan V.

Today my fellow classmates and I visited the atlantic ocean. From a far distance we saw the statue of liberty. I am hoping to see it from a close distance.

WOW!! What a day and what a trip! We have been going non-stop and I think we will all need to sleep for three days when we get back to Texas. The early show was a cool experience (Estrada yelled "Cleveland Rocks" to Drew Carey and he answered back with an appreciative, "it sures does!") The energy of New York is contagious and we are all having a great time! I know this experience will stay with these kids for the rest of their lives!

Unfortunately, we are having trouble getting all of our pictures uploaded. But don't worry, when we get back to Dallas we will post all of our after thoughts and the rest of the pics. In the mean time, I will try to get pics from NY posted before we hit the road back to Dallas. Thanks for all your words of encouragement and we miss all of you!

Mr. P

CBS Early Morning Show Plaza tomorrow @ 7am

What a day...

We sure did walk,
alot we surely did see.
What great memories are being created while I wish you were here with me.
I do miss home but im having a blast,
for what we have been doing is leaving great marks for the past.
I'm telling you,
Burgers we ate, walks we took, and the cold we all did share,
But just imagine when we are back we'll be able to say
D.C.?
Oh we been there!

Tomorrow we are off to a brand new day,
the thought leaves us amazed.
Why would it not?
This trip is one nobody could ever replace.

-Miguel Angel

Pictures from touring all of Washington

Yeah!! we went to the capitol today. One more day till we leave D.C. and arrive to NEW YORK!!!!!!

The visit to the capitol cahnged my perspective about the improtance of History!

Michael Martinez

U.S. Capitol

Well, today we went to the U.S. capitol and everyone enjoyed all the sites of D.C. Now I final realize why Mr.Pearson is always talking about how great the U.S. capitol really is . This is an experience that I will never forget! This is my first time out of Dallas and everything here is more fascinating than I ever imagined.

Juan Velazquez

7:30 am east coast time and we are on our way to visit the capitol. Another short night of sleep, (we arrived at 1:30 last night), but everyone is excited to see the sights of D.C. (Besides, we will finally be able to get a good night sleep tonight!). The fellas from the 11th grade say hello to everyone back in Dallas and we will update you on our visit to the capitol bldg later today.

Friday, March 13, 11:30am

Long night on the bus, but all is well. We just finished our tour of Vanderbilt. Awesome campus! The info session was great, but it is very cold. We're about to head to Washington, D.C.

Thursday, March 13, 6:00pm

Vanderbilt or Bust!

Thursday, March 12, 5:45pm

Time to get on the bus!

Thursday, March 12, 5:15pm

The loading begins.

Thursday, March 12, 5:00pm

The bus arrives.

COME ON LET"S GO !

This is just the beginning for the class of 2010! GO GRYPHONS ! and let's GO and impress !

48 hrs. til blast off!

The Mighty Gryphons on spring break! College bound all the the way to DC and NY! The best and brightest of Dallas, Tx head east!
(Coming soon - March 12th, 2009)