RCA vs. the Blizzard

On Dec. 19th the RCA 5th graders headed to Washington, DC, for an unforgettable weekend of adventure.  Many of the students were nervous about their first flight or their first night away from home, but none of them knew what was in store for them in the nation's capital. 

Soon after landing, a light snow started to fall.  The students toured the Lincoln Memorial, many of them staring for many minutes at the face of our 16th president.  They read the words of the Gettysburg Address and then stood on the steps where Martin Luther King, Jr. made his "I Have a Dream" speech.  Each child raised his/her arms and proclaimed what his/her dream is for the future. 

The students walked through the Korean War Memorial and commented over and over about how lifelike the statues were.  Tynelius Hall said, "I feel like I'm walking right with them," and Jordan Still described the faces as, "haunting."  

By the time the students arrived at the Vietnam Memorial, it was approaching 9 p.m. and the snow was falling rapidly.  The students tried to read the names of fallen soldiers through the ice and snow, and although they couldn't make out the names, the students were solemn, serious and respectful of the lives that were lost during the Vietnam War. 

When we awoke the next morning, almost 20 inches of snow was on the ground, and there was no traffic on the road.  The bus driver said he was unable to reach the hotel, but Mr. Clark said there was no way we could miss our tours of the Capitol and the White House!  The bus driver finally arrived, and we slowly made our way to the Capitol.  We could get no closer than 5 (long) blocks away, and we had to walk the rest.  The wind was about to blow us over, and the falling snow made it hard to see more than 5 feet ahead.  We were the only people....anywhere...and we were beginning to be afraid that the Capitol would be closed.   When we arrived, the security guards were shocked to see us.  They said that only 6 people had made it to the building.   We were given a private tour, and basically had the place to ourselves.  We loved it!  The tour guide said she had never seen a group of students that had more knowledge about history.  She was blown away. 

After the tour, we had to walk to the bus.  Most of the students would walk 10 feet and fall face first.  They spent as much time standing up as they did on the ground, and it took a very long time to move the group from place to place.  When we arrived at the White House, only a handful of people were there.  Again, we had the place to ourselves, and we enjoyed taking our time in each room and talking about all of the facts that we had learned about the historic home. 

Later that day, Darius Emmanuel, Jordan Still and Mr. Clark headed to the CNN studio to give an interview about our trip.  When Mr. Clark stepped out of the bus, he fell directly in a ditch of snow and the bus erupted with laughter. 

That night, we were snowed in!  Mr. Adams and Mr. Bruner even had to push a police car out of the snow.  Some of the chaperones had to walk to find a convenience store that was open, and they brought back sandwiches, drinks and pizzas.  That night we played games and had a blast with each other laughing and joking. 

The next day we found a wonderful Chinese restaurant that was open, and after eating we toured the FDR Memorial.  We then headed to Maryland to have dinner at the Medieval Times restaurant.  The students were in heaven!  There were 4 different knights at the restaurant that fought against each other, and their colors were red, blue, green and black.  The students sat in the section that matched their RCA House, and I doubt no individuals have ever cheered louder for their knights.   In the end, the red knight (AMISTAD) was victorious. 

Late that night, the students experienced an RCA tradition - snow ball war!  The fight lasted almost 2 hours, and the students, although frozen, had the time of their lives.

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About The Ron Clark Academy

The Ron Clark Academy is a private, nonprofit SACS CASI accredited middle school in Southeast Atlanta that promotes innovation and inspires its students through energetic teaching balanced by a strict code of discipline.  Each year, 3,000 educators from around the world visit the Academy to learn how to replicate the school’s style, philosophy and success in their own classrooms.  The Academy currently relies on outside funding to provide scholarships to students from varying academic backgrounds.