CGS Sophomores Take on DC

On Wednesday, September 20, 2023, the Riverbend High School Sophomores of the Commonwealth Governor’s School took their first field trip of the year to Washington DC. 

Throughout the day, the students went all over DC, visiting sights that they had been discussing in their AP US Government class. Sophomore, Ella Spear, summarizes the trip saying, “We saw the National Archives, spoke with Abigail Spanberger at the Capitol Building, and went on a tour within the Capitol Building.”

First, they went to the National Archives where they were able to see many historical and foundational documents such as the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence. This gave the students an up close look of the documents they had discussed in class, and a deep dive into the physical work of all the founding fathers they had learned about. Sophomore, Jacob Korn says, “It was exciting to see what we had learned in class come to life at the archives.”

After the Archives, the students took a half mile walk to the steps of The Capitol. There, they were able to interact in a question and answer session with the Virginia 7th congressional district representative, Abigail Spanberger. 

Through the Q&A the students were able to see exactly what the job of a congresswomen entailed, and were able to witness the media covering the event. Korn comments, “…through the meeting with Spanberger, we were able to learn more about the representatives in government.”

Once the Q&A was over the students had the exciting opportunity to take photos with Abigail Spanberger and have a brief conversation with her. Aiden Caffrey, a CGS sophomore who went on the trip, comments about his meeting with Spanberger saying, “It was really cool! She gave really thorough responses to everyone’s questions and made a point to say hi to everyone who wanted to.”

Next, they headed into the Capitol building for a guided tour and to eat lunch. They were able to tour each room learning which functions of government takes place in each area, seeing all the state statues, and learning about various United States leaders throughout the years. 

The students of all four grade levels of the Commonwealth Governor’s School often take big trips like this to supplement their learning by seeing what they have learned about in their classes, first hand. 

The trips offer time for the class of 30 students, who all have an extreme passion for learning, to bond, being that they go through all four years of Highschool together in the same classes. When asked what his favorite part of the CGS trips are, Korn responds, “Not only are you with your best friends, but also people who want to learn about and experience the world just like you do.”