Garden School Highlight May 2026: Eighth Grade Trip
The Eighth Grade trip in Waldorf education is meant to provide an opportunity for the class to be together one last time before they head off on their own journey for high school. It is a time to be out in nature, participate in new experiences together, and reflect on their time together these past eight years. These students have all been together since First Grade, and two of the students were also here in Kindergarten!
As the students have been actively fundraising for the trip since Sixth Grade, the trip holds a sense of anticipation and excitement for the graduating class for more than three years. Thank you to everyone who has made and purchased baked goods at the Kingdom of Halloween festival. The proceeds from that sale go directly to the students for their trip.
On Saturday, May 9, we flew to Seattle, Washington. After some snafus with delayed flights and car rental pick-up, we finally set out for the city proper. Hungry and a little tired, we kicked off the trip eating at a Lebanese restaurant, where the students probably ate their weight in homemade pita! The meal was incredible! After filling our bellies, we spent the afternoon in downtown Seattle exploring the Chihuly Museum and the Space Needle.
Sunday was an early morning as we had to wake up to catch a ferry to the San Juan Islands. However, the early morning was well worth it! We spent the morning kayaking in Griffin Bay and had lunch on the beach filled with incredibly neat driftwood. In the afternoon, we went out on a boat with two crew members: our naturalist, a marine biologist and educator, and the Captain, one of the most prominent orca researchers in the world. The amount of knowledge they shared with us was just incredible. We followed two orca families for several miles; one had just given birth in March. The baby was so cute! We had dinner in Friday Harbor before taking the ferry home.
Monday brought us back to the water - white water rafting down the Skagit River. While we floated down the Skagit River, we learned about the local salmon and the conservation efforts to help them, gazing at the amazing views surrounding us (including snow-capped mountains!). We also learned about the devastation the recent flooding caused in the area, specifically how it changed and affected the river's flow. Our guide was the main river manager of the Skagit River; we tagged along and learned how he assessed a potential river hazard that occurred from the flooding (in this case, a downed cedar tree), as part of his job is to report if anything poses a threat to rafters. The water was about 48 degrees, and we ALL braved the water and jumped in!
On Tuesday, we hit the trail and hiked to Snoqualmie Falls. The Snoqualmie Falls holds a particular significance for the sdukʷalbixʷ (Snoqualmie Tribe), and can be understood through the story of Moon the Transformer. It is the only “Traditional Cultural Property” in the state of Washington listed in the National Register of Historic Places. On the trail down to the base of the waterfall, we were immersed in old-growth forests. The trees were truly majestic, towering over the trail. We also saw “nursing” trees (or “nursing logs”), which are fallen or decaying trees from which another tree grows. As the nursing trees decay, they provide nutrients, shade, and water to a newly growing sapling. That afternoon, students had some free time to explore Pike’s Market!
Our final day was the bookend to our opening activity. The class had the opportunity to take a glassblowing class, each student making their piece as a keepsake of the trip! On the way to the airport, we rode the Seattle Monorail and made a quick stop in the MoPOP museum. After dinner, we boarded a red-eye flight back to Atlanta. The Eighth Graders arrived in Atlanta at 5:15 am, tired and ready to crawl into their own beds, but full of wonderful memories of the Pacific Northwest.
The trip was a beautiful way for this group, which has been together since First Grade, to cap off their school experience.
Thank you to the wonderful Middle School Class Rep, Heather Dietz-Smith, for all of her hard work this year! There was a lot to coordinate and organize this year, especially with a graduating Eighth Grade class, and I appreciate all her help in keeping the Middle School parents in the loop with all that was going on!
