by Alex Feit

Freshmen have significantly fewer field trips than upperclassmen, according to history and social sciences teacher Ty Vignone.

To account for this disappointing reality of freshman life, Vignone began supervising a freshman-only, two-day field trip to New York City over 30 years ago, and he has continued to do so since, he said.

“I felt the trip would annually add spirit to the freshmen classes,” Vignone said.

This year’s iteration of the trip, which will take place from Thursday, Feb. 2 to Friday, Feb. 3, has one of the most participants Vignone has ever chaperoned, he said. Around 225 students have already signed up, which is around half the freshman class.

“On average, we use two buses to get all the students to New York. This year, we’re using five. The last time I’ve had that happen was in the late 1980’s,” Vignone said.

“The ninth grade must be a really united, cohesive group for me to have this many kids sign up,” he added.

The trip, although it is mostly just for fun, provides a real-life connection to the Middle-Ages and Renaissance unit that freshmen are currently studying in their history classes, according to Vignone.

During their stay in New York, students will travel to the Cloisters, a wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where they will view artifacts from the Middle-Ages, such as the Unicorn Tapestries and armor for knights, Vignone said.

Students will also visit the main branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see Renaissance art, Vignone said.

The group will later see the musical Spiderman on Broadway while staying in two hotels in New Jersey, Vignone said.

According to Vignone, the New York trip has historically gone well with students.

“Any kid who likes to stay overnight in New York and see Broadway shows with his or her classmates has loved this trip,” Vignone said.