With the rising temperatures and sunny days signaling the end of the 2025-26 school year, end-of-year fun and celebrations have already begun. One such example is the recent sophomore field trip to the Franklin Institute, part of the Day of Joy initiative, where each grade level participated in an activity to celebrate this year’s theme of Joy.
The field trip, along with the Peer Group Retreat and Junior College Seminar, took place on April 10. Sophomores were divided into small groups for the day, with each group starting their journey in a different one of the museum’s exhibits. Sophomore Gracie Lin highlighted some of the exhibits she got to visit, describing them as “interesting, kid-friendly and interactive.” She also cited the walk-through heart as one of her favorite activities. Latin teacher and Tennis coach Mr. Michael Augsberger chaperonered and echoed similar thoughts on enjoying the various exhibits. He reflected on the human heart exhibit, stating that his students “did the huge heart twice so they must have enjoyed that.” As for his personal highlights, he pointed to the exhibit that used optical illusions to make rooms look like small town storefronts, which he described as being “really creative” and having “felt like Back to the Future.”
Despite both agreeing on trip highlights, Mr. Augsberger and Lin did have slightly conflicting views on the merit of the field trip as a whole. On the one hand, Mr. Augsberger found the day to be a pleasant break from the routine of school and a much needed day out in the midst of these last few stressful weeks of school: “It’s [routine] good for us and for kids. But when you break from it every once in a while it’s like a small retreat or a rest.” On the other hand, Lin expressed slight disappointment with how the day as a whole went and its functioning as a Day of Joy. Lin explained this disappointment stemmed from the fact that the field trip was not suited for the sophomore age group, as it was not something the vast majority of the grade seemed to take interest in. She also remarked that many of her classmates did not attend the trip at all, sharing “A lot of people didn’t come because they weren’t personally interested in the museum, and its target demographic was too young for us.”
Ultimately, the success of the sophomore field trip seemed to vary a bit in its extent, with some expressing their joy and others voicing dissatisfaction. Mr. Augsberger certainly enjoyed his time at the Franklin Institute, describing the field trip as “as good a day as it could be.” While Lin enjoyed some of the specific exhibits, she echoed a common feeling of dissatisfaction in the effectiveness of the Day of Joy.
Following this experience, the way the current Student Council and faculty leadership responds to this feedback in planning future events will be fascinating to see as the Class of 2028 continues through their high school journey. A potential improvement suggested by Lin was allowing students the opportunity to choose their own groups, which she said “could encourage student attendance and overall enjoyment of the trips.”Despite the varying opinions among some sophomores about the Franklin Institute itself, the creation of the Day of Joy marks the arrival of a new tradition still developing here at PDS. With many iterations ahead, the event is still open to growth to eventually make this trip enjoyable for all sophomores.
