As the school year starts to draw to an end, the anticipation for summer begins to build up. “Senioritis” infects the upper class, and juniors and sophomores wait for the clock to tick down to the last minutes of another year.

While the year isn’t quite over yet, teachers try to keep students’ interested by being creative with their lessons. In the last few months of school, some teachers will be taking their classes on field trips to see their textbooks in action.

“Anytime you expand education outside the four walls of school, I think it’s great,” principal Tom Lietz said. “It’s one thing to read the history books, but another to actually understand the breath of it once you experience it. I think field trips are a wonderful asset, but they are also expensive.”

After taking a trip to the Clinton Township Police Academy and Jail, Law Enforcement students will be heading to the Macomb Circuit Court and County Jail.

“I think it will give me another experience, not on TV but a hands-on one,” senior Kristen Longtine said. “I think I’ll enjoy just touring the jail; I get to see it during working hours. It’s another aspect of the law enforcement field.”

Students will also sit through real trial cases.

“It’s kind of a weird situation because we don’t know what we’re going to run into,” teacher Rob Machak said. “[I hope students gain] more understanding on how the justice system works. Both experiences are real, beneficial trips, you get to see it first hand.”

On April 21, publication students will be heading to Lansing to attend the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association Spring Competition and Conference.

“I am looking forward to hopefully winning another Spartan Award and to go to my last MIPA conference,” senior Katelyn Tremper said. “It makes me feel sad [to attend my last conference] because this field trip is fun and very beneficial to journalists.”

While yearbook and newspaper students also attend MIPA’s fall conference, where they attend workshops taught by professional journalists, the spring conference consists of high school publications being acknowledged for their outstanding work.

The third week of May, AP government students will be heading to downtown Utica and Shelby Township for Government Day. They will spend the day learning about our local government and job shadowing an official in the field.

“It’s a way for the students to see local government in action,” teacher Yvonne Swanson said. “They learn about careers available to them and learn how tax dollars are spent at the local level.”

On May 24, Marketing students will be heading to Cedar Point to learn about the different aspects in business.

“Cedar Point is a great place to teach about marketing and hospitality,” teacher Dana Boice said. “We’ll meet with all the heads of the departments at Cedar Point. They’ll also discuss employment opportunities for students.”

Whether it be going to jail or Cedar Point, it’s opportunities like these that open students up to new experiences.