City Sights and Historical Heights

The PJA 8th graders have returned from their class trip to Washington, DC and New York City. We are so glad to have them all back at school!  

While this class trip does not fully replace the experience of traveling to Israel, it is a meaningful and valuable trip. Students are exposed to the history of the USA and the history of the Jews in America. Students try new foods, learn to navigate new cities, and explore immersive Jewish communities. 

We asked our students what stood out to them as a really memorable part of the trip. Here are a few of their answers. 

The meeting with Congresswoman Bonamici. It was interesting to see where she works and what she does. I also appreciated getting to ask her questions. - Forrest

The bagel workshop was cool. I learned a lot about the history of bagels and how you are actually supposed to make a bagel. - Ayelet

I loved visiting the American History Museum. It was amazing how much information there was and how it can all be related to the same thing which is the history of our country in a cool and interesting way. - Siena

The Empire State Building was awesome. I loved the ride up to the top.  When we got to the top it was so cold, and it was so cool to look over and see all the way down. - Abe 

The African American Museum. I got a lot out of it. I learned so much from looking at the items from their experience. The time went fast because there was so much to explore. There are so many dimensions to the African American experience and the museum reflected it so well. - Sam

The Cherry Blossoms! They were all over DC and we learned all about their history. - Jacob

The changing of guard at Arlington National Cemetery. It was so cool to see the mechanical accuracy of a human being. - Noam

The Holocaust Museum. I learned a lot there. I took my time slowly and read every single caption. I had the strongest connection there because of my family, and it is so important to learn about. - Sequoia