Poland Middle School students visit the nation’s capital

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Neighbors | Submitted .Poland Middle School students, from left, Jackie Lendi, Emily Eckman, Joel Miller, Allison Berend and Zack Prizant acted as wreath bearers during a field trip to Washington, DC. The students were winners of an essay contest.

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Neighbors | Submitted.Poland Middle School students sat on the steps of the Capitol Building during their field trip to Washington, DC.

Poland students learned what it means to serve one’s country and admired the nation’s capital.

Poland Middle School eighth-grade students visited Washington, D.C., May 12-14 on the school’s annual field trip.

During the visit, the students stopped at Grant Memorial to take the traditional eighth-grade photo and were welcomed by Congressman Tim Ryan and Congressman Charlie Wilson.

Shaun Saad, a 2000 Poland Seminary graduate, also stopped by for the meet-and-greet after taking time away from his job at the Office of Homeland Security.

Eight-graders Emily Eckman, Zack Prizant, Jackie Lendi, Joel Miller and Allison Berend won an essay contest titled “If I could spend five minutes with a Vietnam veteran” and had the honor of laying wreaths on the wall next to the names of three Poland soldiers: Howard B. Carpenter, Edward Andrew Zorn Jr. and James Herbert Spencer.

A military bugle player played Taps at the end of the ceremony.

Other highlights of the trip included tours of the Capitol Building, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Smithsonian Museum of Natural and American History and Washington’s National Cathedral.

The group got to see firsthand where Abraham Lincoln was shot and later died when they visited Ford’s Theater and Peterson House and they explored the grounds of Mount Vernon and viewed George Washington’s tomb.

Appreciation and respect for the men and women who fought for the country was brought home to the students in their visits to the Korean Memorial, Vietnam Memorial and the World War II Memorial. It allowed them to understand the significance of holidays such as Memorial Day.