Eighth Grade Class Visits Topeka
On October 25 and 26, the St. Francis 8th grade students, along with four school sponsors were able to take what may have been a once in a life time trip to Topeka. The entire trip was funded by the Hansen Foundation located in Logan, Kansas.
Late last summer, the superintendent’s office was contacted by the Kansas History Museum in Topeka offering a gift of $2,500 from an anonymous donor to bring a group of jr. high or high school students to the museum in Topeka. We later found out the donor was the Hansen Foundation. Approximately 27 schools in northwest Kansas were made this offer. The school administration and staff felt this had the potential to be a wonderful educational experience for our students. Plans were made for the 8th grade class to make the trip.
Since Topeka is such a long trip for us, we decided to take in as much as possible with the time and funds available. We left the school at 8:15 on Tuesday morning with our first scheduled stop in Hays to eat at Freddy’s restaurant. Many of the students had never eaten there and it seemed to be enjoyed by all. Next, we stopped at the Eisenhower Museum in Abilene. We toured the boyhood home of Dwight Eisenhower, the Eisenhower Museum, Library, and the Place of Meditation. Of course the students were also thrilled with the gift shop as well.
We arrived in Topeka about 5:00 p.m. to check into the Holidome. Dominos Pizza was delivered to the hotel at 5:30. Everyone ate until full and then either hit the pool, played in the game room or visited for about an hour. We were scheduled to visit the Combat Air Museum at 7:30 p.m. The museum normally closes at 5:00, but the volunteers running the museum agreed to accommodate our group. When we arrived, we had two tour guides, both veterans, who split us into two groups and gave us quite a thorough tour of the two hangars that are packed full of combat planes. As you can imagine, this was a highlight of the trip for many of our students. The knowledge and dedication of the gentlemen that provided us this opportunity was sincerely appreciated.
It was back to the hotel for more swimming, and the vending machines supplied snacks and drinks non-stop for nearly an hour.
Breakfast was an amazing buffet in the hotel the next morning. Again, all members of the trip ate until full. Ward Cassidy, our high school counselor and also our 120th District State Representative was one of the sponsors for the trip. He had contacted the personnel at the Capitol and arranged for us to have an astonishing tour of the building. We arrived at the Capitol at about 8:30 a.m. and Mr. Cassidy took us to his office to begin the tour. He had made arrangements for us to meet Governor Sam Brownback and get our picture taken with him in his office. This was certainly a highlight for many of our students. The Governor was gracious enough to spend some time visiting with the students and showing us various symbols representing the state of Kansas he has in his office. After visiting the Governor, we went to the Senate chamber and then the House of Representatives. Mr. Cassidy showed the students his chair and let them experience sitting in it. He provided an overview of the procedure used to vote and how things work in the House. We were also able to go into the Speaker of the House’s office and meet his secretaries, which is something we were told doesn’t usually happen. All in all the Capitol tour was a wonderful experience for the students and having Mr. Cassidy there made it a very special stop. The Kansas History Museum was the last sight-seeing stop for us. It is located on the west side of Topeka, so we stopped there before departing for home. This is the museum the Hansen Foundation wanted us to see. It truly is a wonderful museum that starts with early life in Kansas and progresses to modern times in chronological order. We were greeted by museum personnel and provided a fantastic tour guide for the museum. As with the other stops on the trip, this was a favorite of many students as well.
Before departing for home, we partook of hamburgers at the Red Robin near the Kansas History Museum; again, an experience that some students had never had before.
What a wonderful gift this trip was to our students. The Hansen Foundation truly does marvelous things with their resources. Certainly, the trip our 8th grade students took will be a lifelong memory for them.
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Additional photos from the trip can be found by using the "Photos" link on the left side of this page and then clicking on the links for "8th Grade Topeka Trip."
