Each year, eighth-grade members of the National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) at Thomas County Middle School are rewarded for their hard work in middle school by having the opportunity to travel to the nation’s capital for a week in April. Thirty-nine members of the NJHS, along with three chaperones, toured Washington, D. C. April 22-26. Charla Floyd, MERIT Georgia Studies teacher, Meggin Nix, middle school teacher, and Jeff Brinson, resource officer at Cross Creek Elementary, chaperoned the group. The eighth-graders visited sites such as the Holocaust Museum, the Smithsonian Museums, the National Zoo, Ford’s Theater, Mount Vernon, the National Archives, the Library of Congress, and Arlington National Cemetery.

Three students were chosen, using an essay contest, to participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. On Thursday morning, April 25, Ayden Webb, Jesse Benton, and Talia Esther, along with NJHS advisor Charla Floyd, received instruction from Tomb Guard sentinels of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard). The formal ceremony involved marching forward, laying the wreath, saluting the flag while Taps was played, and marching out. Webb stated, “It really made me feel more connected to soldiers, particularly the ones that gave their life for their country.”

The annual trip to Washington, D. C. by the NJHS was an awesome learning experience. Mrs. Floyd stated, “These students have worked hard during middle school, and I’m so thankful that they had this chance to experience living history. The beauty of the monuments at night, the grandeur of the Capitol Building and the Library of Congress, the solemnity of Ford’s Theater and of Arlington; these are experiences that our students will remember for a lifetime.”