Purple Haze
Welcome to Manhattan
By Lauren Bagian

April 22, 2010

As the bus drove through Times Square in New York City on Saturday, April 17, the sounds of the rushing people and the hundreds of cars outsides were accompanied by a chorus of gasps from inside the bus: “Whoa.” “I’ve never seen a building that tall before.” “Look at all the taxis!” These sights were new to a lot of the students who had never been to New York City to experience the incredible view that the metropolis provides. Even the students who had visited before were still amazed, for it’s hard not to be taken aback by the 10-story high video billboards and the store devoted entirely to M&Ms candies when you spend most of your time in central Pennsylvania.

Our mob of excited and overwhelmed high school students walked to the Majestic Theater to see Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera the way it should be seen, on Broadway. The show was another experience that some had never had before. With the world class orchestra, the amazing singers and performers and the sets that morph in front of your eyes, a Broadway musical can entrance the audience in a way that they will come away with memories forever, and that’s exact what it did for the music department students from Northern High School. After dinner at the Planet Hollywood restaurant, we all headed back to our buses exhausted. Some were excited about having another successful visit to the city; others were still amazed about their first visit.

The opportunity to have such a trip was found through Northern High School and its dedication to having students grow up as well-rounded individuals with world experience. Through department trips, traveling competitions and other events, students can see more of the world around them, and that’s an important skill that cannot be taught in a classroom.