Students ready for annual visit to Washington, D.C. and Williamsburg, Va.

FOUR-SCORE AND SEVEN- Students visit the battlefield at Gettysburg, Pa., during a previous trip to the famous venue.

Registration is open for the annual student tour to Washington, D.C. and Williamsburg, Va. The trip, scheduled during spring break, is open to area middle and high school students in grades 8 and above.

According to Donald Zimring, superintendent of the Las Virgenes Unified School District, and Tom Johnsen, a teacher at Calabasas High School and one of the trip organizers, the 31st annual trip has become a tradition for students.

The nonschool activity is sponsored by local teachers and has served over 10,000 students during the past three decades.

Informational meetings have been scheduled to provide an overview of the trip and answer questions parents may have. Each of the meetings will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the following locations:

•Wednesday, Oct. 10- Sequoia Middle School, Newbury Park

•Thursday, Oct. 11- Lake Lindero Country Club, Agoura Hills

•Wednesday, Oct. 24- Agoura Hills/Calabasas Community Center, Calabasas

Zimring said the since the trip is a non-school activity, schools do not have any information or materials to distribute to parents.

The entire cost of the trip including airfare, lodging, all meals, evening activities, sightseeing and tips is $1,357. The trip is a non-school activity and is conducted during spring vacation, Johnsen said.

Johnsen and Zimring have organized and chaperoned the trip for decades. Both men agree that while students find the trip an exciting adventure, the primary goal is education.

"We develop the itinerary as if it were a lesson plan," Zimring said. "We know that the students will have fun, but we also know that this can be an incredible opportunity for teaching as well."

To this end, pre-trip classes are conducted to help the students better appreciate what they will see and experience.

"During the classes we review everything from the history of the city to contemporary issues before Congress," Johnsen said.

"When students arrive, they don't just look at buildings, he said. "They enter a huge classroom geared for nonstop learning."

The trip offers students a chance to see Washington D.C.'s familiar sights including monuments, memorials, and the National Holocaust Museum. They also attend a performance at the Kennedy Center.

Another long held tradition is for students to visit Colonial Williamsburg, a town that exists just as it did in 1775.

"To visit Williamsburg is to walk back into history," Johnsen said. "It is living history at its best and has consistently been a highlight of the tour."

The tour also sheds light on the Civil War. Students visit the battlefield at Gettysburg and tour of Ford's Theatre. A full day is set aside to let the students explore the Smithsonian Institute, including the most visited museum in the world, the National Air and Space Museum, Zimring said.

Zimring said every minute of the trip has been planned, which organizers believe has been the key to the popularity of the trip year after year.

The trip is routinely sold out and students are often placed on lengthy waiting lists, Johnsen said.

"One of the most exciting aspects of the trip for us is that some of the teachers who serve as chaperons participated in the trip as 8th graders nearly two decades ago," Johnsen said.

For further information, parents may contact Johnsen at (805) 4991569 or Zimring at (818) 991-9059.

Information may also be obtained at www.traveled2dc.com.

- Stephanie Bertholdo