The Best Field Trip

The Most Amazing Field Trip

Did you know that the eighth-grade history curriculum is focused on the United States Government?  As an extension of this curriculum, for the past eleven years, the students in grades 6th, 7th, and 8th have participated in Law Day, a celebration of the Judicial System.  

Corpus Christi has partnered with the Ottawa County Court System.  The students have written questions, openings and closings, assumed the roles of lawyers, witnesses, and bailiffs, plus presented the case . . . . at a real courthouse, with a real judge!  We always look forward to having our “Day in Court!”

On Friday, November 30, 2018, at 8:00 am, the 8th grade class loaded the bus and traveled to Lansing, home of our State Capital.  But, we didn’t visit the Capital! We visited the Michigan Supreme Court. What an amazing day.

The building: impressive; security: tight; and the faces that greeted us: welcoming. We began our day in the Michigan Supreme Court Learning Center.  A hands-on center that shares information about the judicial branch of government. We then entered the Michigan Supreme Court. Wow! A normal court has one judge – the Michigan Supreme Court has seven.

We were greeted by Justice Brian K. Zahra, a member of the Michigan Supreme Court since 2011. According to our schedule, we had 15 minutes with Justice Zahra – an hour later, we bid him farewell.  The morning was filled with questions and answers (the students were amazing with their wealth of knowledge), visiting the Justices’ locker room (we tried on Justices’ robes), sitting in the conference room (where the justices meet to decide what cases will be heard), and returning to the courtroom and calling court to order.  Every student was able to sit in the Justices’ chairs. Other students were able to call court to order.

Justice Zahra, a product of the Catholic school system himself was very impressed by the knowledge of our students, and their protocol in a courtroom. He also commented on the amazing program that Corpus Christi offers their students.  

On our return from Lansing, we stopped and had lunch, and talked about the day.  Next to Law Day . . . . voted “Best Field Trip Ever!!”