On Oct. 5 and 6, sixth-graders will travel to Walden Pond on a field trip to learn more about Henry David Thoreau, the man for whom their Wayland Middle School house is named. This year, the Henry cluster will explore on Oct. 5 and Thoreau will go the following day.
At Wayland Middle School, a famous person from the past is assigned to represent each grade — Thoreau for sixth, Rachel Carson for seventh, and Martin Luther King Jr. for eighth.
Thoreau was originally selected to represent sixth-graders for his spirit and individuality, and for how he observed and interacted with the natural world. Students will get a glimpse into his simple lifestyle as they trek the pondside trail and visit the site of his cabin.
“We will learn a bit about him in class and go to Walden Pond this fall on a hike,” said sixth-grade Team Leader Kelly Hagan. “We’ll hike around the pond and talk about what we see around us. We will ‘saunter,’ as he may have one day done, and stop to listen to the train going by as he may have. And we’ll enjoy the world around us, and do some reflection with journals by the pond.”
Years ago, the sixth-graders traveled to Walden Pond via bicycle, but Hagan explained that they now take a bus, partly because fewer sixth-graders now know how to ride bikes. Interim Principal Courtney Rowley once attended the field trip as a bike-riding sixth-grader and is happy to attend again this year.
“I’m looking forward to going and enjoying this time in the place that inspired so much of Thoreau’s work,” said Rowley.
Sixth-graders can look forward to studying more about the environment in seventh grade when they’re in the Rachel Carson house and travel to the Cape. In eighth grade, students will go to Boston to learn about the life of Martin Luther King, Jr.
