The two day trip commenced with a 6 a.m. departure from Bruriah to Washington D.C., where students visited both the Capitol and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. At the Jefferson Memorial they were treated to an unexpected bird’s eye view of a National Geographic film shoot. Following lunch the students participated in the reality spy mission, “Operation Spy,” which Sophie Seidman, of Hillside, described as, “one of my favorite parts of the trip. It was so interactive and they made it seems very realistic.”

Late night swimming at the Wyndham Hotel was followed by an animated party to celebrate their graduation from junior high. During the party, an impromptu kumzitz broke out and, going around the circle, each student shared a special moment from the day. Elizabeth’s Hila Ben-Baruch shared that she had overheard people several times throughout the day saying things like, “oh those girls are wearing skirts—they must be Jewish,” and how proud she felt about the kiddush Hashem she and her peers were making.

The following day began with a delicious tour of the Herr’s Factory in Nottingham, Pennsylvania, where the girls got to sample the snacks produced there, followed by an exciting visit to Six Flags Great Adventure. The action-packed day concluded with dinner in Lakewood that was topped off by an ice cream dessert extravaganza at the renowned funspot Sprinkles.

“I’m so impressed with the positivity and achdut that the girls had on the trip,” said Frumie Greenfield, director of junior high student programming. “It made a great trip even more fun.”