We left the school at 9:00 a.m., and it was a chilly morning. The walk seemed long, at least thirty minutes. It was a very peaceful morning. I was excited about going to Governor’s Island because I’ve never been there before, I was curious to see what we were going to do there. I was thinking about going to Governor’s Island so much, but by the time I looked around, we were close to Target.

Five minutes later we were in the subway station. When we got on there were so many fifth graders, that I had to stand up with a bunch of my friends on the train. The train ride was forty minutes long. I didn’t even realize how much time had passed because I was talking. I was surprised when we arrived because it felt like we had just gotten on the train.

When we got off the train, we walked towards the island dock. I noticed some tall buildings along the walk. It was very loud and noisy and people were selling items such as, hot dogs, shirts, hats, and drinks. Finally, as I saw a sign that read “Governor’s Island” I saw boats and heard people say that they were for us.

First off the train

Street Vendors

Ferry Terminal

Inside the terminal

Approaching the ferry with Ms. Snow.

On the boat, we saw the Statue of Liberty. The ride seemed fast, only five minutes, and the boat had two levels. We were on the top level. People that went to Governor’s Island that were not on our fieldtrip sat on the bottom level of the boat. I enjoyed the boat ride very much.

Lady Liberty

When we arrived on the island, everyone rushed off of the boat with excitement. As we arrived, there was an opening ceremony. There were two men wearing long, black suits. One of them was playing a small, strange looking guitar. The other man picked two boys from our school to hold a long, red ribbon.

Man with a banjo

Ribbon cutting ceremony

We all chanted “New Island.” Then the man called up a girl who bowed to him like she was a queen. The man was holding a box, and inside of the box was a big pair of scissors. The girl took the scissors from the box and cut the ribbon. Everyone was chanting while the man with the guitar played a beautiful song.

Princess Amoah has the honors.

We walked through a huge body of green grass and the most beautiful landscape that I have ever seen. We were given a speech about the island. We learned about a woman who made 400 wind nomads in one month. I was so impressed by her. After the speech, we were allowed to explore the paintings on our own.

Flock of geese amidst the Wind Nomads.

History of the Wind Nomads Project

Wind Nomads

Landscape

I saw so many wind nomads. The wind nomads were beautiful paintings made by immature and professional artists. My favorite painting was the one of somebody’s face.

Rahmel

Faces

I liked this painting because it looked real, almost like a photo. While I was looking at the art, I overheard a teacher say that we were going to see a cow. I was looking forward to it.

Jacob & Misty

The cow was named Misty. We were told that we could touch the cow but to be careful because the cow was two months pregnant. To prove that the cow was not dangerous, he stuck his hand inside the cow’s mouth so that we wouldn’t be afraid to touch it. I touched the cow but my teacher made me clean my hands after. We then played a “True or False” game and I got all the questions right. The cow pooped as we were playing the game and we watched as the man used a shovel to clean it up. It was already almost time to leave.

Misty with the kids

Misty pooping.

Our next fun activity was dancing at the Silent Disco. When I heard about this, I was curious because I didn’t know what a Silent Disco was. I saw people dancing but I didn’t hear any music. We all put on big, wireless headphones and danced to the music that we heard in our head. I really liked the Silent Disco. I liked it so much that I tried to be the last person dancing, even after it was over.

Silent Disco Dancers

Silent Disco

After the Silent Disco it was time for lunch, and I was happy about that because I was hungry. We had lunch on a long table. I had to rush to eat my sandwich and my banana because we didn’t have much time before our next activity began.

At the next activity I watched as a man walked over broken glass. The man also set a brick on fire and tied it to his foot. At first, I couldn’t even believe that the fire was real so I had to look twice. I thought this man was very unusual for doing these crazy stunts. It was very exciting and entertaining to watch.

Walking on broken glass

Man with the axe

Crunch!

My favorite activity was watching the “Pots and Pans” band. They made music with pots and pans that you would normally cook on. The drumming had such a unique sound and it sounded so good. It was the best thing I’ve heard in a long time. I didn’t want them to stop playing, but the band was tired after playing us many great songs. It was time to start heading back to school anyway.

Pots & Pans Electronic Sampler Band

Intently watching

Pots & Pans Electronic Sampler Band

Still watching intently

The trip back to school was quiet, probably because everyone was tired from a long day. Many of us were ready to fall asleep on the subway. It was hard for me to stay awake. We got back to school just in time for dismissal. Governor’s Island was by far my favorite fieldtrip. I hope that I can return there soon because it was a lot of fun!

Snoozin' on the ferry trip back to Manhattan

Bowling Green Station

Peace Out

SLeM

SLeM

Our Beautiful & Diverse Children

Photos by Mr. Jump unless otherwise noted.

November 13th, 2009 | Category: Awesome Events, Creative Writing, Dutch Language, Dutch-Brooklyn Connexions, Fifth Grade, Global Magnet Studies, Global Partnerships | Subscribe to comments | Leave a comment | Trackback URL