The end of the school year includes final projects and tests, but also plenty of activities to celebrate students’ achievements through the past year.

A highlight of Waterford’s field day activities was the dunk tank, which splashed students on a hot day.

Model Principal Lynne Peters congratulates a student at the fifth-grade graduation last week.

Goshen’s elementary students were able to enjoy field days and picnics this past week, while Goshen Middle School and Goshen High School have had their own celebrations, like awards banquets, dances and graduations.

Model Elementary had its second annual fifth-grade graduation this year, setting aside a time during the last week of school to have parents and teachers recognize the accomplishments of students entering middle school next year.

“It’s a nice end-of-year celebration,” said Model Principal Lynne Peters.

Several dozen Goshen Middle School eighth-graders ended the school year with a fantastic trip to Washington D.C. and the surrounding area to “tour the nation’s capital, visit the memorials and grounds that students have studied, and create lasting memories with their friends and teachers,” according to GMS Assistant Principal Jan Baker who accompanied the group on the trip.

Highlights of the trip’s itinerary include visiting the Washington Monument, touring the Capitol building with one of Sen. Joe Donnelly’s interns, visiting the National Archives, The National Cathedral, The National Zoo, The Holocaust Museum, the Smithsonian and numerous other monuments and memorials, along with attending a Baltimore Orioles baseball game at Camden Yards. Four students also represented Goshen Middle School Friday morning, laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. Each of the four students, Matthew Herrmann, Katie Herschberger, Ashley Sanchez and Nicholas Hensley, wrote a powerful essay about what it means to them to be able to have that kind of opportunity.

Goshen Middle School students show their excitement for heading out to Washington D.C. to tour the nation’s capitol and surrounding area.

The trip was open to any eighth-graders in good standing with the school interested in the trip. The organization Celebrate America sponsored scholarships for five students going on the trip.

Other events and activities throughout the week had students, teachers and families celebrating students’ accomplishments and looking forward to what can be accomplished next year.