Bulldog Close Up

Photos from April 2011 Trip

2011-04-12T14:30:00.004-04:00

Photos from the Vietnam Wall and the Zoo.

2010 DHS Close Up Club

2010-03-25T15:19:00.001-04:00

Fourteen students and their sponsor will fly to Washington, D.C. on April 11 to participate in "Close Up 2010". In addition to all Close Up activities, students will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, take a tour of the capital, tour the Gettysburg National Battlefield and many more. Students and their Close Up sponsor will post comments and pictures to the Bulldog Close Up site throughout the trip.

2009-01-29T21:04:00.002-05:00

Long time coming, eh? Sorry about that, just beginning to figure out this whole blogging thing. I'm sure you've all heard this a million times, parents, but we couldn't have done this without you. Love you mom and dad! And a million thanks to Mr. Billingsley, Ms. Black, and Mr. Hernden (I hope that's how you spell your name...) because, yes, we couldn't have done this without you. Kudos to all the other students on the trip. Had a great time!

Final Blog pic post

2009-01-23T00:01:00.002-05:00

One final pic from day 6. This is students in front of Senate side of capital II.

Final Billingsley Post

2009-01-22T23:55:00.003-05:00

Here are the final pics from day six- John Lewis Office, Supreme Court, Mt. Vernon, students blogging

Catherine, Hunter, Anna and Eilis go to Washington

2009-01-22T21:57:00.002-05:00

Right now we're missing the second dance to blog about our trip, but it's okay because we miss y'all and owe this too y'all. We've made good friends and are really enjoying ourselves. We've finally warmed up from the freezing cold inauguration day. Anna's feet are still recovering from walking around in heels at Mount Vernon. Hunter, Anna, and Catherine all managed to get a picture with Martha Washington right before our visit came to a close. Our bus driver Al knew everything there was to know about Washington D.C. and kept us informed all the way to Mount Vernon and back. We've really enjoyed everything that we've gotten to do and are very thankful for this AMAZING experience.

Jason, Dylan, Graham, Michael, Parker

2009-01-22T21:50:00.002-05:00

On the close up trip we all enjoyed Barack Obama's inauguration on the 20th. We in particularly enjoyed the inauguration because the speech was amazing and we all liked the fact that Barack Obama was president because we all supported him in the electon. We also enjoyed seeing monuments because there was a special history behind each one and each story is very interesting.

Ellen, Mary Elizabeth & Eron

2009-01-22T21:44:00.003-05:00

We had a great time this whole entire week. All the P.I.s [Program Instructors] were wonderful.
Besides learning a ton, we have had the time of our lives visiting the Lincoln Memorial, the F.D.R Memorial, and Mt. Vernon.
We have taken a million pictures and are excited to share them with everyone back in Decatur.
The inauguration was amazing. By far the most exciting thing we have taken part in so far. Well, besides the 20 degree weather and waking up at 3:00 am. But, hey, we DID get a pretty good spot.
Can't wait to see you all.

Close Up 2009- Grace Herndon, Jasmine Black, Sarah Black, Kamari Reid, Jessica Jones, Cecilia Kuehnel

2009-01-22T21:39:00.004-05:00

Our trip to Washington DC has been so much fun! During the inauguration it was very cold and windy, but we kept warm by staying close together, and in the end, it all payed off. We also went to see Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington. We visited the tomb of him and his wife and paid our respects. Overall the trip was a success and was tons of fun. We're all so grateful and thankful to Mr. B, our chaperones, and our parents for this wonderful experience and opportunity.

Close-up 2009 Tyler Hall

2009-01-22T21:32:00.002-05:00

The whole Trip To Washington has been a great experience. The inauguration was by far my favorite thing we did this week. it was amazing to see our first black president get sworn into office. mount Vernon was very cool as well, I was very impressed by the tomb of George Washington

Cose Up 2009 Omari Grant_Joseph

2009-01-22T21:29:00.003-05:00

I recently had a trip to Washington D.C. for the inuagaration of Barrack Obama and I have had alot of fun. My favorite places that i went to was Mount Vernon(the house of George Washington) & the Inaugoration of Barrack Obama there was a lot of peeople there and it was a once in a life time experience.

Close-up 2009 Alex Fowler

2009-01-22T21:24:00.002-05:00

Avoiding all the cold air, miles of walking and early morning wake up calls close-up to me is a memorable experience that I will never forget. Other than the inauguration and dances here at our hotel the events that I have experienced have changed my life. Today in particular we went to Mount Vernon. This was a memory to me because I got to see one of the men who created our country and helped make it what it is. I now know that there were good men back then and that they set a precedent for what our presidents today should do. Close-up is a very great experience and I loved every part of it. Good luck to Barack Obama and God Bless America.

2009 Close-Up, Brett Polston

2009-01-22T21:18:00.002-05:00

This experience for me has been something I will never forget. Waking up on Tuesday morning to see Barack Obama get sworn in and make his inaugural speech was truly something amazing. I'd like to thank everyone who made this trip possible and thank you everyone in the Close-Up staff.

day5 Gettysburg, Press Club

2009-01-21T23:22:00.003-05:00

Mr. B answers questions at the National Press Club's press conference. Did you see it on CNN?
The question was, "Mr. B, is it true that you are the best looking teacher at DHS?" Answer- "Although there are several nice looking male teachers at DHS, it is true that I am the best looking." Sorry Mr. Hatfield

This is the teacher of Sarah Palin's daughter. Ms Black and I had dinner with her and fellow CU teachers from Alaska.
These are the world famous Capital Steps comedy group. Thats Bill Clinton, Hillary, and my man, Hussein!

Mr. B at Little Round Top. No wonder the Yankees won the battle!

Vincent's D.C. pics and posts

2009-01-21T23:05:00.003-05:00

This is Vincent Antinozzi from D.C.
A rare clean shot of our new president Barack Obama
Great shot of the capital.

Here's my roommate and he is cold. Cold yet excited. The day of the inauguration was a blast we got to know each other and i don't think i will ever get more huddled up with these Decatur kids ever again.

We are having a blast.

2009-01-21T14:07:00.003-05:00

Look how close they were!

2009-01-20T23:46:00.000-05:00

Do thse guys look sharp or what!

2009-01-20T23:44:00.001-05:00

GQ to the max! Looking sharp!

2009-01-20T23:42:00.001-05:00

Back at the hotel at 4:00 P.M. Not much time to to style but the girls are experts. My guess is that they received allot of attention at the Close Up ball this evening.

2009-01-20T23:38:00.001-05:00

The inaugural ceremony was over at 12:45. When we arrived at the metro station, the wait was three hours. Mr. H suggested we go into the Air&Space museum for some academics. No Way! Once inside, most students crashed.

2009-01-20T23:37:00.001-05:00

Sean had the best buttons at the inaugural. People were trying to buy this one.

2009-01-20T23:33:00.000-05:00

Eron was like the rest of us, trying to stay warm. It was impossible.

2009-01-20T23:28:00.001-05:00

We were in the dark from 4:00 to 7:00. It was good to see the sun rising.

INAUGURAL

2009-01-20T22:00:00.002-05:00

Long day. From 2:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. So many things to deal with. Getting students up on time. Security and safety in D.C. during the inaugural. The cold- Man it was cold! Dealing with all the little details of being in charge of 33 students. No lunch, Little sleep. But we made it. If I had not had terrific students, this would have been a disaster from the get go. Outstanding students and parents. Great leadership from several of the older students who took over an important task when I was dealing with too many dramas or just plain exhaustion. For the students, I hope it was a day that will be remembered for the rest of their lives. For me, right now, I'm glad its over. But maybe, down the road a few years, I will remember the ending of Rick Warren's prayer, the strong words President Obama used when describing the threat of world terrorism, or the look in the eyes of a group of students, tired from a long day of fighting the cold, hunger, and the need to use the restroom (O.K., maybe not the most memorable event of this historic occasion). I think I will remember today as the day that I shared a historic event with thirty-three of my students. Its the kind of experience that students can talk about thirty, maybe forty years in the future and say, "I'm glad my parents and Mr. B. nagged me into going on that trip. What a time we had!"

its early!

2009-01-20T02:20:00.003-05:00

Its 2:20 A.M. I can't see the keyboard. My teacher roommate thinks I'm crazy. But if we are to get a good viewing area for the inaugural today, we "gots to gp git er' done". The chaperons will start gently knocking on doors at 3:00 telling students to "Wake Up, You Fools!" On the metro at 4:00 to see the event of a lifetime, or at least until the next election. Seriously, say a silent prayer for all of us, including the president elect. He will need it. I will say also add a silent prayer of thanks to President Bush and all our brave troops that have kept us safe for the past seven years. God Bless the President, the President Elect, and Our Military, Police, and Fire Forces!

love in VA.

2009-01-19T20:33:00.001-05:00

I sent this to parents Monday evening:
My niece, Kelly Billingsley ______ (new last name), who is 9 1/2 months pregnant, went to the goodwill store in wherever and bought four large blankets for us to use tomorrow. Nine plus months pregnant?! Now that’s some love!
Will email the entire final plan for tomorrow to parents. Not too many changes. Will stick with much of already agreed upon. 3:00 A.M. wake up knock on door. Have to be on the way out the door by 4:00.

U.N. speaker at Monday's lunch

2009-01-19T15:26:00.003-05:00

I asked
the U.N. representative at lunch today, "The U.N. has had trouble dealing with individual dictatorships around the world. How will you deal with terrorist groups that are not part of any nation/state?" His answer: "The Obama administration administration
will try to find common ground with nations like Russia and China."
He added, "There are some situations that the U.N. may not be the best organization to solve the problem."

2009-01-19T12:42:00.001-05:00

More breakfast pics

2009-01-19T12:42:00.000-05:00

More breakfast pics

2009-01-19T12:41:00.000-05:00

Students at brakfast this A.M.

2009-01-19T12:39:00.002-05:00

"There stands Mr. B, teaching like a stone wall." (Taken on the spot where Thomas Jackson stood at Manasas.)
Come to think of it, thats how I've been teaching for the past 32 years!

day3

2009-01-19T12:38:00.000-05:00

Just a quick note before lunch. The teachers returned from Manasas/Bull
Run battlefield. Great tour. Getting ready for teacher lunch and
lecture. Brenda Woods, from 11Alive called on my way back from Manasas.
She will try to get together with the students this afternoon for a live
feature as the students go around the war memorials and Lincoln memorial.
Hope this can happen. We will be leaving for the inaugural tomorrow
morning at 4:00 A.M. to try to get a good spot on the mall. 11Alive will
again try to meet us for live shots. Hope this happens.
Enjoy the pics. All students and chaperons should be sending info and
pics to the blog sites set up by Ms. Boswell.
Pic 1: "There stands Mr. B, teaching like a stone wall."
Pics2&3- Students at breakfast Monday A.M. They spent the day at the
war memorials.

2009-01-18T22:40:00.000-05:00

Mr. B doing the "You make me want to shout" song.

2009-01-18T22:39:00.000-05:00

Going to the concert

2009-01-18T22:36:00.001-05:00

Mr. Glickman, President of the Motion Picture Association. The good looking guy on the right is trying to get into the movie business as the next James Bond.

2009-01-18T22:35:00.001-05:00

Teacher Breakfast Sunday Morning. More than 350 teachers attended. Do you see Ms. Black in the middle?

2009-01-18T22:34:00.000-05:00

Learned allot!

2009-01-18T22:33:00.000-05:00

Returning from final Sunday class.

2009-01-18T22:29:00.002-05:00

Very busy! Both students and teachers were going full speed without a
break all day. Students had classes and field trips to presidential
memorials this morning. Teachers went to breakfast and lecture. Teachers
heard from former congressman and Agriculture secretary and present head
of the Motion Picture Association, Dan Glickman. He did a great job
explaining the similarity between being a congressman, cabinet member and
president of Motion Picture Association (That why they pay him the big
bucks). He made the point that only in the U.S. can a sitting president
have a a critical movie made about his life. Later, I
asked him, "The motion picture business has a reputation for being
controlled by the so called, "liberal elites". Do you thing that conservative and
traditionally minded film producers, directors, and writers get a fair
shake in Hollywood or is it really all about the money, sex, and dishing
dirt on Republican presidents?". He surprised me with quite a long answer.
He said that the top ten percent of Hollywood people may be left-leaning
but "this has been true in the entertainment business for the last
2,000 years since Jesus Christ."
Wow!
After that, the chaperons split up. I went to the Smithsonian museum of
American History. Terrific! Saw the original John Bull train, Abraham
Lincoln's top hat, and best of all, the ruby slippers worn in the Wizard
of Oz. Chaperons met and went to the concert, thinking we would meet the
students. Students spent the afternoon at the concert. Most arrived back at
the hotel around 7:00, exhausted but talking about how exciting it was to
see PE Obama and hear stars like Beoncee and Bruce perform live (Who is
this Beoncee?) Students went to their 9:00 class. (I’m sure they are
thinking, “Class on Sunday night? What’s up with that!)
Students and teachers are encouraged to post comments and pictures on the
following sites: bulldog close up blog at blogger site, Twitter.com
(whatever that is!), DecaturEDtv, and both the Decaturmetro and Indecatur blog sites.
Enjoy the pics.

Tomorrow is another big day- Students have classes and go to the war
memorials, teachers go to a choice of several sites. I will check in with
all students during breakfast.

2009-01-17T22:49:00.001-05:00

Arrived around 12:00 in Baltimore. Great Flight (It must have been all my prayers. Broke the "Separation of Church and State"
commandment big time!). The captain told us that it had warmed up, from minus 9 to minus 4 degrees! Since there was no wind, it didn't seem so bad. This pic is the crew on the bus to D.C. Mr. Herndon had just finished a great lecture on "How to Count Off Properly". The Crystal City Marirott is is a fabulous hotel. The students were a little disappointed that instead of having four DHS students per room, we have two and two students from another school. Most of the kids in our program are from Florida and California. Only one complaint so far, from two of our students that said they were having some "trust issues" with their roommates from Florida. I told them it would get better. Since dinner was served at 4:00, we decided to chill until we
ate. After a great meal, most of the students and I went to do some shopping at the Pentagon Shops. A few students remained at the hotel with the chaperons. The mall was crawling with Obama-maniacs- Shirts, Buttons, Jewelry. Everyone was wearing something about Obama. The prices were a little too high for our students.
I told them that we could find some bargains Friday morning before we
leave for the airport. Tonight the students are in their first workshop.
It took a while for all the students to find the correct location but they
finally made it. Hope all will blog something about the first day.
Tomorrow is a big day. Students and teachers have workshops in the
morning and in the afternoon, we will all go to the mall to the big
concert. I sure hope that Snoop Dogg shows up and sings, or whatever.

I will try to see all students tomorrow morning before I leave for teacher
field trips. After workshops, students will go to presidential memorial-
Lincoln, Jefferson, Roosevelt. In the afternoon, we will go to the
concert together.
So far, so good.

Mr. Chris Billingsley
Decatur High School

first day

2009-01-17T22:45:00.001-05:00

Arrived around 12:00 in Baltimore. Great Flight (It must have been all
my prayers. Broke the "Separation of Church and State"
commandment big time!). The captain told us that it had warmed up, from
minus 9 to minus 4 degrees! Since there was no wind, it didn't seem so
bad. The Crystal City Marirott is is a fabulous hotel. The students were
a little disappointed that instead of having four DHS students per room,
we have two and two students from another school. Most of the kids in our
program are from Florida and California. Only one complaint so far, from
two of our students that said they were having some "trust
issues" with their roommates from Florida. I told them it would get
better. Since dinner was served at 4:00, we decided to chill until we
ate. After a great meal, most of the students and I went to do some
shopping at the Pentagon Shops. A few students remained at the hotel with
the chaperons. The mall was crawling with Obama-maniacs- Shirts, Buttons,
Jewelry. Everyone was wearing something about Obama. The prices were a little too high for our students.
I told them that we could find some bargains Friday morning before we
leave for the airport. Tonight the students are in their first workshop.
It took a while for all the students to find the correct location but they
finally made it. Hope all will blog something about the first day.
Tomorrow is a big day. Students and teachers have workshops in the
morning and in the afternoon, we will all go to the mall to the big
concert. I sure hope that Snoop Dogg shows up and sings, or whatever.

I will try to see all students tomorrow morning before I leave for teacher
field trips. After workshops, students will go to presidential memorial-
Lincoln, Jefferson, Roosevelt. In the afternoon, we will go to the
concert together.
So far, so good.

Mr. Chris Billingsley
Decatur High School

2009-01-17T22:41:00.001-05:00

Love those digital cameras.

2009-01-17T22:39:00.001-05:00

Waiting for the train. Kamari is telling everyone about how great the New York subway is.

2009-01-17T22:36:00.000-05:00

As you can tell, there is no heat in the Baltimore airport.

2009-01-17T22:35:00.000-05:00

Waiting to board the bus.

2009-01-17T22:28:00.002-05:00

The girls in Baltimore.

2009-01-17T22:27:00.000-05:00

Arrived around 12:00 in Baltimore. Great Flight (It must have been all
my prayers. Broke the "Separation of Church and State"
commandment big time!). The captain told us that it had warmed up, from
minus 9 to minus 4 degrees! Since there was no wind, it didn't seem so
bad. The Crystal City Marirott is is a fabulous hotel. The students were
a little disappointed that instead of having four DHS students per room,
we have two and two students from another school. Most of the kids in our
program are from Florida and California. Only one complaint so far, from
two of our students that said they were having some "trust
issues" with their roommates from Florida. I told them it would get
better. Since dinner was served at 4:00, we decided to chill until we
ate. After a great meal, most of the students and I went to do some
shopping at the Pentagon Shops. A few students remained at the hotel with
the chaperons. The mall was crawling with Obama-maniacs- Shirts, Buttons,
Jewelry. Everyone was wearing something about Obama. The prices were a little too high for our students.
I told them that we could find some bargains Friday morning before we
leave for the airport. Tonight the students are in their first workshop.
It took a while for all the students to find the correct location but they
finally made it. Hope all will blog something about the first day.
Tomorrow is a big day. Students and teachers have workshops in the
morning and in the afternoon, we will all go to the mall to the big
concert. I sure hope that Snoop Dogg shows up and sings, or whatever.

I will try to see all students tomorrow morning before I leave for teacher
field trips. After workshops, students will go to presidential memorial-
Lincoln, Jefferson, Roosevelt. In the afternoon, we will go to the
concert together.
So far, so good. Sorry I can't attach any pics. Took quite a few. Will
try to get a tech pro to show how to send.

Mr. Chris Billingsley
Decatur High School

Inauguration 2009

2009-01-16T07:59:00.003-05:00

Students and parents have worked hard over the past eight months pulling together funds, so students could go on this trip. It has been a pleasure to work with these students and parents and I'm looking forward to the trip. I will try to put daily updates on the blog. Students have been invited to post entries on this blog to keep family, friends, and community members involved in the experiences of the trip. Student may also send photos and video clips to Ms. Andrea Berry of Decatur eLife and Decatur EdTV. Please check all these places to stay informed.

thank you sooo much, from Michelle easley

2008-05-19T17:53:00.002-04:00

Hey everyone! I know that I'm super late to be blogging, but I just really wanted to say to everyone who helped us get to Washington D.C., Thank you sooooooo much! We really had a blast there, and many of us still keep in touch with some of the people that we met there. My friends and I still love to reminisce about the people that we met, and the times we had! And, now whenever I see a picture of a famous monument in Washington, I can say "hey, I've been there!"Thanks again!

Michelle

2008-05-11T11:22:00.002-04:00

Ok, so it's been three weeks since our Close-Up trip and I really miss Washington. It was really pretty there. There were cherry blossoms everywhere and really no pollen that I could see. I had so much fun there, I think the most fun I've had this whole year. To everyone going on Close-Up next year, you're going to have a ton of fun, meet lots of new people, and learn a lot about our government. I can't say how much fun you're going to have in words, you just have to go experience DC for yourself.

Another Trip - 2009 Inauguration

2008-04-28T09:19:00.001-04:00

The Bulldog Close Up Club plans to attend the 2009 Inauguration program in Washington, D.C. during the week of January 17-23, 2009. This will be a historic election and the inauguration will be a once in a lifetime event for all who attend. This awesome program is sure to sell out early so plan on making a commitment as soon as possible but no later than the end of May. Tuition is $1989 for students plus transportation and for adults, $2429 plus transportation. A $500 non-refundable is required (100% refund Close Up sells out before your payment arrives) but we must reserve our group quickly. The final payment is due September 30th.

We will discuss this trip and how to pay for it at our next meeting on April 30th at 6:00 p.m. in room 116. A Close Up representative will be present to answer any question you may have. If you cannot attend, please contact Mr. Chris Billingsley for more information.

Please find attached a few pictures from our trip mid April. Students were able to meet our Georgia senators Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, take a special tour the Capital building with a guide from Congressman Hank Johnson's office, and sit in on a historic Supreme Court hearing.

Mr. Chris Billingsley

Pictures First Day

2008-04-18T15:59:00.003-04:00

Waiting to leave from Hartsfield.

The Close-Up Trip

2008-04-17T19:08:00.005-04:00

Hi everybody,

This is Brianna. I just wanted to tell you some of the exciting things we did at Close -Up. My most favorite thing was the Lincoln Memorial and the spot were Martin Luther King Jr. stood for the "I Have a Dream" speech. In the memorial it had his Gettysburg address he read which we had to memorize for Mr. Wonderful. Other great things we say was the Arlington Cemetary in it we could see Robert E. Lee's house and we saw The Tomb of the Unknown Soilder. What was soooo great about The Tomb of the unknown Soilder was The Switching of Guards and the marching of the soilders who are suppose to protect The Unkown Soilders. We also got to see both of our Senators for Georgia and we are going to be on The Close -Up website for a showing of when we saw our Senator Isakson. So look out for that!!! I don't want to spill all the great things we did so I will let the other students who went with me to tell you the other things we saw but, it was a great trip and I hope you can go next year!!!

Close Up Day 2

2008-04-14T20:44:00.003-04:00

I spent most of the day away from the students. They were involved in Close Up activities, I did Close Up teacher stuff, the kind of things that would put most students to sleep. We went to capital hill to finalize all student meetings with Senator's Isakson, Chambilss, and Congressman Johnson. Outside of Congressman Johnson's office were the pictures of all soldiers from Georgia that have been killed fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. One of my former students, Jonathan Shields, was among those pictured. I brought this to the attention of Congressman Johnson's staff. One member said that the war against terror is more than a sound bite on the evening news but something that affects all of us in very personal ways. Later I went to the National Press Club and a new museum in D.C. called the Newseum. It had a great exhibit on the Berlin Wall and a very moving exhibit on how reporters covered the attack on 9-11. This evening, I am "chil-laxing" while students are listening to a debate between the conservative ("Boo, Hiss") and liberal ("I think I'm going to cry!") points of view. Overall it was a great day in Washington. Students tell me that that they miss doing all the fun stuff at Decatur High but they will survive.
Having a great time. Hope my students in Decatur are working hard. Will try to post pictures sometime tomorrow.

CloseUp Departure

2008-04-13T20:18:00.004-04:00

I arrived at DHS Sunday morning at 4:00. All students were ready to go at 5:00 so I sent everyone to their cars and went back to my room to lock up. When I came back to the front, all the cars were gone! I was alone at DHS! Lucky for me that Mr. Erba and Ms. Knight came back and I was soon on my way to meet the students at the airport. No problems checking in. Flight left on time and was smooth sailing all the way into Baltimore. Arrived at the Marriott at Key Bridge. Nice Place. After checking in, we walked to the Iwo Jima monument. This was way too cool. I tried to explain how important this was to U.S. History but all the students wanted to do was take pictures. Next we walked to Arlington cemetery and saw Kennedy's grave site and the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Very Impressive! I'm glad I make students memorize part of JFK's inaugural address because reading it at the gravesite made quite an impression on the students. We saw the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We all really enjoyed this. The long walk was worth the effort. Catherine suggested that we take the subway back, which was a smart idea. Dinner and classes tonight. Big day tomorrow.
Students in my classes- have fun with all the work. We are really "getting down" in D.C.
OGB

2008-04-12T23:25:00.000-04:00

I'm really looking forward to this trip. I love Washington D.C.

Props To Mr. OGB

2008-04-04T17:53:00.003-04:00

Mr. B, I just wanted to say thank you so much for putting all the time and effort that you have into making this trip possible for us. I know others will agree when I say "OGB rocks!" This is going to be a really great trip.

excited about spring break

2008-04-04T14:31:00.003-04:00

I am so exited for this trip. I hope we see George Bush walking around somewhere.

Gabcast

2008-04-02T14:09:00.008-04:00

Students on the Close Up trip may use their cell phone to record audio reflections or experiences while on the trip using gabcast.com. I've create a channel on my gabcast account called Bulldog Close Up. Students may ask for the channel number and password to participate.

Click here to subscribe to the Bulldog Close Up gabcast feed.

Each call is an episode, so each participant on the field trip becomes a "reporter". All recordings should be the following format:

First Name Only - Example: "Hi, this is Kim"
Location - Example: "I'm standing outside the Lincoln Memorial, and WOW!"
Event, Experience or Reflection - Example: "You just cannot tell how large this statue is until you are standing at it."

Students, please remember your audience includes family members, friends and other interested parties. If you tend to stumble with words, while leaving a voice mail message---you may want to consider jotting down what you plan to say before recording your episode. We have 30 minutes of record time. Only publish episodes when you have successfully recorded. I will try to monitor the recordings, and delete any unpublished recordings.

Getting Ready

2008-04-01T14:22:00.003-04:00

For the past eight months, students, parents and myself have been planning for our Close Up visit to Washington, D.C. I would like students to report on the following topics:

Preparation
Departure and Flight
First Impressions
Opening Night
Monday Highlights
Tuesday Highlights
Wednesday Capital Hill Day
Overall Impression of Trip