Last Tuesday, before dawn, the upper school loaded onto four school buses and headed to New Orleans for an educational/service field trip.   The buses were split into two large groups by advisory.

In the morning, the first group went on the educational part of the trip, heading to the St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square, the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, and the Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium.  At the aquarium, students got to touch the stingrays, admire the penguins, and coo over the otters.  At the insectarium, students had the opportunity to snack on cinnamon, salsa, and barbecue-flavored insects.

“It tasted like Cinnamon Toast Crunch,” said Junior Skye Mejia, after trying a flavored worm.

The second group began on the service part of the trip by mulching trees on a boulevard near Elysian Fields and Founders Avenue.

The service project was done through the St. Paul’s Homecoming Center, which is a Hurricane Katrina Recovery Center that helps residents in the rebuilding of their homes and lives. At the end of the trip, the director of the Homecoming Center told Dr. Pitre that the students had mulched an estimated 600 trees that day.

“I think we made a huge impact on the community, and it was a step for New Orleans’ recovery,” said Junior Adrienne Childress.

After lunch, the two groups switched and the second group went to Jackson Square, the aquarium, and insectarium; while the first group finished up the service part of the field trip mulching trees on Paris Avenue.

It was a very fun-filled day in New Orleans, but more importantly the greatest reward was seeing the improvement we made to the area.