On Monday, March 2, after reading F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Maria Wishart took her junior students to the French Lick, West Baden Museum, the West Baden Dome, and the American Legion Center to learn more about the 1920s and The Great Gatsby.

When the buses arrived, the students split into two groups. Wishart’s group went to the Museum in French Lick, where a speaker talked about the 1920s history and gave a background on the hotel, while Carroway’s Group went to the hotel to learn about the hotel’s history and receive a tour of the grounds as well.

After both groups finished the tours and the speakers, they boarded the buses and went to the American Legion Center, where they had their party. After the party, they returned on the buses for a third time and went back to school.

“The purpose of this trip was for the students to have a 1920s Gatsby-style party after reading the book and to learn about local history while having fun as well,” said Wishart.

It was a formal field trip, and the students were asked to dress up as flapper dancers to experience firsthand what it was like to be in the 1920s Gatsby era.

“It was a cool experience because it made you seem more connected to your environment’s past,” said junior Alivia Sweet.

Games and competitions were also incorporated into the educational purpose of the trip; there was a dance competition and a best costume competition. Treylin Minton won first place in both the dance and costume contests, with Kirkland Hughes as the runner-up in the dance competition.

“The overall experience was fun because I won both contests, and the trip was interesting, and I learned a lot about the past,” said junior Trey Minton.