Members of the Gowanda Middle School eighth-grade class stand with U.S. Rep. Nick Langworthy, who represents District 23 of New York state.

Nearly three dozen eighth-graders from Gowanda Middle School represented the district during an educational and unforgettable weekend field trip to Washington.

The group’s sight-seeing adventure started with a tour of Arlington National Cemetery, where they watched the changing of the guard ceremony and visited the grave of Gowanda native Sgt. James Hackemer.

Highlights for the next day began with the group meeting U.S. Rep. Nick Langworthy, a member of the House of Representatives from New York’s 23rd District, arranged by Gowanda Elementary teacher Elizabeth Fish, and a tour of the Capitol building. Langworthy was born in Jamestown and graduated from Pine Valley Central School District. The remainder of the day was spent touring various monuments and enjoying a dinner cruise on the Potomac River.

Prior to returning home to Gowanda on Sunday, the group visited the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.

This field trip was long in the making, with the Class of 2028 collaborating with a parent group to help supplement the students’ travel costs.

The eighth-grade group is grateful to the bus driver who transported the group safely and fostered enjoyable, long rides. They are also thankful to Principal Todd Miklas and the Board of Education for allowing and helping facilitate the trip to the nation’s capital.

Chaperones were student parents, history teachers Tim O’Donnell and Ian Maginnis along with English Language Arts teacher Andrea Geist and Special Education teacher Sherry Enders, who provided invaluable trip guidance and planning, respectively.