BY ROBERTA COCKING

It’s not too late to sign up for the 8th grade spring break trip to Washington, DC. In fact, the trip would be a great idea for a perfect Christmas present for your 8th grade student! There are currently 11 airline seats/ trip spaces left for the trip. Deadline for the trip at the current price is January 10, 2025. After that date, it will still be possible to sign up, however, there might be an increase to the trip price due to late charges, increased airline or hotel prices.

Flexible payment plans and fundraising tools are available.  The trip is a private trip and not a school sponsored trip and has been offered to Los Alamos Middle School students for over 35 years.

The trip will include round trip air transportation, sightseeing, transportation in and around Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland, all meals and admissions, hotel accommodations, night chaperones in hotel, accident and health insurance. An on-call doctor is available for student illness or emergencies. Highlights of the trip include the White House, the International Spy Museum, a Capitol tour, the Pentagon Memorial, the Washington Monument, the Holocaust Museum, the Smithsonian museums, the National Zoo, Arlington National Cemetery, night tours of the Presidential Monuments, the Iwo Jima, Korean, and the Vietnam Memorials, the National Aquarium in Baltimore and much more. Four students will be selected to lay the morning wreath at Arlington National Cemetery Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The trip will be four days and three nights in duration. The group will stay in a five star hotel in Arlington or Crystal City, minutes from the DC sites.

Here are a few comments from parents and students regarding previous trips:

“I am so grateful for Roberta and the staff at Worldstrides! They organized an unforgettable trip in DC and Baltimore for the Los Alamos students and myself. Their knowledge of the city, museums, transportation, etc.  allowed them to stay flexible in bad weather, make alternative schedules when things were closed and they kept the kids busy each and every moment of every day. I lived in DC for several years and I never saw the city in the way I did with Roberta!”  -April Wade

“The DC trip was so much fun and educational. It was amazing how many things we got to see in the time we were there! The city is beautiful and has so much history for our kids to learn from. From a parent’s perspective, it was fun to watch from a distance as my child interacted with other kids on the trip. It was fun to have them learn some safe independence and spread their wings a bit. This trip will not be forgotten. The education and memories will last a lifetime. Truly a fabulous experience!”- Christi Haynes.

“ This trip was the best of my life! I learned that I have a lot of friends in my school that I didn’t even know that I had.”

“I learned a lot on my trip to DC. It was amazing, educational and FUN! I learned a lot about the memorials, Presidents and wars! If I could go on this trip again, I would in a second!”

“I now have so much more respect for our country than I did before! Seeing all the people who died for our freedom was special to me. Without them, we wouldn’t have the life that I know. I gained a lot of knowledge. I never really knew about the wars and events until we saw them on this trip. I had never thought much about wars that my grandparents had served in until this trip. I especially loved laying the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It was special to me because my grandparents served our country.”

“This trip changed me in so many ways. I learned so much about our government, not only from books but now in person. I became really good friends with people who went on this trip. I also learned a valuable lesson on how to handle my money.”

“This trip has changed me because of the Holocaust Museum. This museum made me realize what freedom really is and how much we should value our life. It made me realize how horrible it was and why we should never let it happen again.”

“I love history! This trip made me love it even more! I have been to Washington, DC many times. This was my favorite time! I have learned more history on this trip than in school. I also made tons of new friends. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity!”

“This trip has done many things for me. I have become closer to my classmates. I have become more responsible because of this trip. Being away from home made me  be more responsible. I had to wake up on time, manage my money and always be back to the bus on time. I feel more like a young adult now!” 

“This trip has changed me as a person in many ways. It has opened my eyes to many things that I otherwise would not have realized, understood or even cared about. I now understand the things people gave up so that this nation and all the people in it can live in freedom. This trip showed me how reading from a textbook and looking at pictures can only do so much for you. Many people died fighting for our country and are remembered and thanked for it in this city. I would have never known, understood or cared about this!”

“Because of this trip, I have finally learned to like myself!”

Sign up at https://worldstrdes.com/custom/2025-los-alamos-middle-school-dc-215374/ using Trip ID # 215374 call 1-800-468-5899. Questions? Call Roberta Cocking at 505-670-0679 or email her at scrc318@cox.net or robertac@worldstrides.com

Related

William C. Daroff

Last month, I returned to Poland for my fifth visit, this time as part of the European Jewish Association’s annual mission to Auschwitz. The gathering brought together Jewish and non-Jewish leaders from across Europe and beyond, united by the urgency to confront rising antisemitism and the shared challenges of our time.

I laid a wreath at Birkenau — a somber reminder of the atrocities our people endured and a call to action against the resurgence of hatred today — and I was honored to give the keynote address.

Krakow has always been a city of profound historical and personal significance to me. Nearly 30 summers ago, between my undergraduate and graduate studies in the U.S., I first walked its streets as a student at Jagiellonian University, delving into the history of Eastern European Jewry and the Holocaust. Living just down the hall from me in the dormitory was Heidi, a graduate student at NYU I did not yet know but who would soon become my wife. Our shared experiences in Krakow formed the foundation of our life together. Returning to this city now, decades later — having raised two daughters who for me symbolize Jewish resilience and continuity — reminds me of the miracle of our survival.

I visited Krakow again to work on Jewish-Polish reconciliation and yet again in 2022, in the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, when the shadow of war once again loomed over Europe. But this time, my return was marked by a different crisis: the resurgence of antisemitism, fueled by the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in Israel and violent acts like the recent attacks on Jews in Amsterdam after a soccer match.

The parallels between the past and present are stark and chilling. Standing in Krakow, just weeks after Jews were hunted in the streets of Amsterdam, I could not help but reflect on the 86th anniversary of Kristallnacht. Then, as now, hatred unchecked has spiraled into violence. That history has left us with scars, but also with lessons to be learned — first and foremost that we cannot remain passive in the face of such threats. There are other lessons as well:

From mourning to mobilization: Oct. 7 marked the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. The slaughter of 1,200 Israelis — most of them civilians engaged in mundane, life-affirming acts — was a shattering moment for our community. Yet the horror did not end there. The massacre was celebrated in Western capitals, with protests erupting in support of Hamas’s barbarity. Social media amplified the vitriol, emboldening antisemites to bring their hatred into the public square.

Amidst this darkness, however, we have witnessed extraordinary resilience. Across the Diaspora, Jewish communities are rising to meet this moment. In the United States, synagogues are fuller, Jewish symbols are more visible, and advocacy has reached unprecedented levels. These are not mere reactions to trauma but acts of defiance and pride.

I’ve seen this firsthand in the mobilization of Jewish advocacy groups at school boards, city councils, and Congress. This grassroots activism is making a tangible difference, from securing protections for Jewish students on campuses to advancing the adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism in state legislatures. These efforts demonstrate that enduring is not a passive act — it is a proactive, determined stance against those who seek to harm us.

Unity and self-defense: The Holocaust and Oct. 7 remind us of the perils of statelessness and the necessity of a strong, secure Israel. The State of Israel is an indispensable guarantor of Jewish safety. Its ability to defend itself and to serve as a refuge for Jews worldwide is central to our collective strength.

But this moment also demands unity. The divisions that occasionally splinter Jewish communities must be set aside in the face of existential threats. From the exiles of antiquity to the pogroms of the shtetl, from the Holocaust to the atrocities of Oct. 7, history has shown that Jewish survival depends on our ability to stand together.

Hope amid the ashes: To return to Krakow, a place steeped in Jewish history and scarred by unspeakable horrors, is to confront both the depths of our suffering and the heights of our resilience. As I stood at Birkenau, I was reminded of the enduring spirit of our people. We are here. We endure. And we will not be cowed.

But hope alone is not enough. It must be paired with action — political advocacy, education and the relentless pursuit of justice. Our history is one of perseverance and progress. We have faced darker days and emerged stronger. As I reflect on the mission to Krakow and the work that still lies ahead, I am inspired by the unity and determination of our community. Let us ensure that this moment of reckoning becomes a turning point for global Jewry — a moment when we not only endured but rose to build a stronger, safer future.

William C. Daroff is CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.