TORRINGTON - 143 Eighth graders and 25 adult chaperones boarded four Kelley Transit buses for a 4-day tour of Philadelphia and Washington D.C. on May 4.

The trip tied in with the eighth grade History curriculum and was run by teachers Jason Lafreniere and Michael Fritch. The trip was organized by Educational Tours out of Northbrook, IL.

In Philadelphia the students were treated to lunch at the "Bourse", a guided walking tour of Independence Hall and Park, pictures in front of the Liberty Bell, Congress Hall, Ben Franklin Court and the Betsy Ross House. The students were also treated to a run of Rocky Balboa's training grounds at the Philadelphia Art Museum.

The middle school students spent three days of the trip in DC. They got to visit Mount Vernon, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Ford's Theater, Pentagon Memorial, Capitol Hill tour, and visit with Congressman Chris Murphy, all the monuments and memorials, Arlington National Cemetery, Smithsonian Institution Museums and a Major League Baseball game.

This trip to DC and Philadelphia was a first for the eighth grade. The students and organizers hope it becomes an annual tradition.