When in Rome: Grade 8 Virtual Field Trip

By Denise Bernardino, 8-4

February 10, 2021



AA

The Grade 8 Virtual Field Trip, spearheaded by Ms. Justine Calpe, was held on February 6, 2021 via MS Teams. The students started off with a level assembly and left the meeting to join the live event that started at exactly 8:30 AM.

The tour started at the Roman Colosseum, also known as the Flavian amphitheater, one of the Roman Empire’s largest amphitheaters. Built by Emperor Vespasian and Titus at around 70 AD, the figure stands at 160-feet high and has a 50,000 seating capacity. The colosseum hosted wild combats, gladiator fights, and animal hunting.

Students took their recess for 30 minutes after the first virtual tour. After the break, they clicked another live event that led to a virtual tour of the Roman Pantheon. This was one of the best-preserved monuments in the Roman Empire and was built by Marcus Agrippa. It was constructed as a Christian church after the Roman empire. The original pantheon was struck by lightning and was broken down but was rebuilt by Emperor Domitian, only to catch fire again around 110 A.D. Tombs of artists like Raphael were buried in the pantheon. Additionally, there are also Christian statues like that of the Virgin Mary.

To wrap up everything, the field trip ended with Grade 8 students answering closure activities and evaluations. The tour sites that the Assumptionistas visited in Rome represented history in just two structures; on one hand, the Colosseum symbolizes the hard work, brutality and history of the Roman empire. On the other hand, the Pantheon represented the Roman gods and even Christian influences. Learning experiences became more flexible, allowing blessings due to its unique virtual nature: it allowed the Grade 8 students to travel to Rome! The field trip, unlike any other the level has seen before, successfully delivered fun activities, interesting facts, and mind-blowing truths about history