Westminster 6th graders visited Castleton State College Tuesday, February 15. The students toured the campus and worked with Spartan staff with the ‘Man on the Street’ question. Below are student responses to the experience:

Reflections About Castleton State Collage

by Brodie

I liked how Castleton students were so nice and how they took the time out of their day to take us on a tour around campus.

I enjoyed going swimming and going on the radio with friends. I also enjoyed getting to take pictures with the reporters from the newspaper. I learned how to put things onto the newspaper and how to zoom in and out with a press camera.

Also I liked the food and the freedom to have as much as I wanted.

I was surprised at how well the students stayed focused on their studies and not on us.

Castleton State College is a cool place because they have a pool with a diving board and they have a fitness center with treadmills and weights. They also have a library with over a thousand books. That’s a lot of books.

To sum it all up the people were friendly the pool was refreshing and the food was tasty.

Reflection on Castleton State College

By Connor

On Tuesday February 15, 2011 we went to Castleton State College. It took us an hour and a half to get there. When we first got there we were met by a guy called John Paul. Then he led us into an old chapel were we all got sugar donuts and apple cider. Then the assistant coach for the football team talked about college. Then two football players came and talked about how they came to Castleton. After the three of them left, two college students named Amanda and Dana gave us a tour of the campus.

We split into two groups. The group I went with went to the library, gym, our guide’s dorm, and some other important buildings. Then both groups met up for lunch at the cafeteria. There was an ice cream machine and a waffle machine. You could also get pizza, fries, hot dogs, and lots of other things. They also had soda machines with all different types of soda.

After lunch we split back into the same two groups. My group got to make a film. Some of our jobs were to control the sound and the robo cam. There were people who got interviewed and there was a host. We switched our jobs three times. I learned a lot about making a film. The other group got to go on the college radio.

The next place we went to was the pool. They had a big diving board that almost everyone went off. We got to use noodles and boogy boards. We got to stay in the pool for about an hour. Some people didn’t go in the pool. My favorite parts were the pool, lunch, and making the film. Our guide was very friendly. I’d like to thank John Paul for letting us come to Castleton.

Reflections about Castleton State College

by Caleb

February 16, 2011

Castleton is

A very nice place

Students are so nice

The movie filming was fun

Letting us play in the pool and closing it off for us was generous

Eating in the dining hall was neat cause of all of the choices.

The college is very small but cool

On the football filed I liked it because it was turf instead of grass

No one in the filming studio was mean

Spartan football players and the assistant coach were cool.

The tread mill was cool because you could watch TV on them and I liked the fitness room.

All over the Campus is awesome.

The staff seemed friendly.

Everything was cool. I liked every thing.

Castleton Reflection

by Lilianna

On February fifteenth 2011, our 6th grade was lucky enough to visit Castleton State College. We got a tour, had lunch, did an activity and went swimming in the pool. During our visit we felt very welcomed and learned a lot.

When we first got there we went in the Old Chapel. There we were welcomed by our host John Paul, two football players and the football coach. They kindly gave us cider donuts and apple cider. They talked to us about admissions and what we should be doing now to be ready for college.

Castleton College also provided tour guides named Dana and Amanda. They were very friendly and it was very nice of them to lend us their time. My group’s tour guide was Dana. She showed us a lot of the campus. Some of the things she showed us were the sports fields, the library, the fitness center and the auditorium.

After our tour we ate lunch at the dining hall. The variety of food that they offered us was amazing! It was also all-you-can-eat! It was very generous of them to give us that choice.

When we were done with lunch we got to do an activity with the college students. My group interviewed some of the students at Castleton. We asked them “Where do you see yourself in ten years?”. We received a wide variety of answers including acting, being an accountant and being on a Greek beach.

Next Castleton let us swim in their pool and closed it to the rest of the college! They even hired life guards for us! Who doesn’t like a college that does all that?! I am so glad that they let us swim because it was so fun.

All in all, Castleton State College was as welcoming as a school can be and you could tell that they really wanted us there. I really want to thank the people that made our fabulous visit to Castleton happen because we had so much fun and got encouraged to work, study and enjoy school.

My Reflection On Castleton State College

by Breeona

Couldn’t believe it was such a long trip

After arriving we ate donuts and drank cider

Swimming was interesting because I watched people jump off the diving board

The TV studio was awesome because I learned how they make films

Lunch was the ”bomb” – if I could I would eat there once a week

Everyone answered and explained our questions we had

The tour guide Amber brought us to her dorm and it was awesome

On our trip we watched people on treadmills

Never ending experiences that I couldn’t have if I didn’t go to a college

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Reflections about Castleton State College

by Brady

I enjoyed my trip to Castleton because they went from building to building showing us what they do in that building. They gave us cider and doughnuts right when we got there and the Football coach gave us a good speech and he brought some football players that told us that they went to a different college and then switched because it was not for them, so then they went to Castleton and they liked it. It was the right fit for them.

The students took time out of their day and class time to show us what they do. They let us help them do what they usually do by going around the campus and interviewing college kids for the Spartan( the college news paper) and not getting mad when we messed up and doing it in a nice way, when they didn’t have to.

I like that they let us eat there and get whatever we wanted. They also let us get unlimited amounts of food and ice cream that was for the college kids when they could have made us bring our own food and drinks. They let us walk around and get what we wanted and trusted us instead of following us around getting us our food . They actually let us serve our own ice cream and put our own toppings on it instead of shutting it down and not letting us use it or making someone do it for us.

My favorite part of the day was when I got to go swimming. I think that it was nice that Castleton closed down the pool just for us and paid the life guard just so we could go swimming. They could have not let us go swimming because they did not want to pay life guards to be on duty. They let us use the noodles and the boogy boards when they could have just put them off limits. I think that it was nice that they went out of their way to make our day better than it could have been.

Reflection to Castleton State College

By Jake

Castleton State College is a small college but is very cool. It is in Vermont which I like and it has football and other sports.

The things I thought that were cool and interesting was the football field because it was all turf and not grass. One other thing I thought was special was the fitness room because you could watch TV while running on the treadmill or you could lift weights.

Another I thought was interesting was the filming studio and how they set it up. When I was the host on the show I didn’t like the lights because they kind of blind you and the microphones are too big and I didn’t know how to use them right. The control room for the filming studio was really cool and a little confusing because there were so many things to do, but I got to do the PSA (the Public Service Advertisement) and the recording which was very fun. One thing I wished I could have seen was their mascot the Spartan.

I would thank the people that showed us around the college and all the places. I would like to thank the people who set up the trip and who let us swim.

Reflection about Castleton State College

by Delaney

On Monday February 15, 2011, the whole sixth grade slid on their backpacks and got on the Westminster Center School bus for a two hour ride over to Castleton. During the long ride you were allowed to bring electronics. I brought my I pod, my DS, and my camera.

Once we arrived we went into a building called the Old Chapel. It was a beautiful building like nothing I have ever seen. I absolutely loved it but I wanted to see more than just one building, so the sixth grade divided in to two groups and each group got a tour guide. Group two’s tour guides name was Amanda. She was really nice. On our tour we got to go and see the Fine Arts Center, Woodruff Hall, Leavenworth Hall, Calvin Coolidge Library , Campus Center and the Huden Dining Hall. In the fine arts center right before we went swimming we split up in to two groups and group two got to do some filming and acting. In the Calvin Coolidge library they have thousands of books, and in the Huden Dining hall we ate lunch and when we ate lunch we got soda and actually got to choose what we ate.

Some thing that really surprised me was how nice people were. They made you feel welcome and treated you as if you were someone special. Something that I really liked was that they encouraged you to think ahead and picture yourself going to college and they were okay if you said you might be going to a different college.

I really enjoyed swimming and going to the studio and control room. When we were there, the pool was closed and they opened it up and paid two life guards to watch us and that was just really friendly and kind of them to do that. One thing I learned was that the old chapel is one of the oldest buildings on campus and I also learned how to be a host on TV. I had a really good time and enjoyed it a lot.

My Castleton reflection

by Keri

Castleton State College is a great place to go

A lot of things to do there

So many friendly people there

Tons of food in the cafeteria

Lots of sports fields and a very big gym

Enough fun to fill a whole day with

The assistant football coach was very encouraging

Over all a very good trip

Not a very big campus but very fun to be on

Castleton Acrostic Poem

by Jessica

Cool campus

Admissions director told us about the school

Super nice people and teachers

The cafeteria has a lot of food choices

Luxurious dorm rooms

Encouraging us to work hard

The tour guides were very friendly and helpful

Offers a lot of interesting classes

Never ending experiences.

Reflection on Castleton State College

By Brody

I really enjoyed my trip to Castleton because it was a little College in Vermont and it is a really good one and they have a lot of stuff you can do. It felt really good when my class and I got there because they greeted us and they even gave us cider donuts and some apple cider. They were really good too. The person who met us when we got there was John Paul. He is a really good guy I think. He was nice because he made me feel welcome there. Then there was a football coach and there were actually some players to and they had their own speeches.

What I really liked was when I got to go into a radio station and I got to go on air. For future reference the radio station channel is 93.1. One thing that surprised me was how nice the students were and just all of the people there were really nice. One thing that I learned was that you can pick your own classes but you still have to do the main classes. I really liked how we ended the day with swimming in the pool. It was really fun. I really appreciated how the life guards took their time and let us play in the pool when the pool was closed. My favorite thing that I did there was lunch because there were a lot of options of food and there was soda and an ice cream machine. The only thing if you lived there was if you ate there every day you would probably gain weight. I also think that the football field was pretty cool and the basketball court.

Thank you Castleton, for letting me and my class come and come see your college, and also for all the people who set up this trip for taking their time. This college really sparked interest to go to college because I really didn’t know if I wanted to go to college.

Reflection on Castleton State College

by Ira

The journey between 6th grade and college is a long one, but for a single day that journey seemed short. As if I was going tomorrow. Now I am not sure if Castleton would be the college I would be going to, but it still felt like an orientation for a college I am going to (or considering to go to) next year. This trip not only encouraged my want to go to college but also made me consider Castleton for a two-year or four-year degree. The facilities were amazing and they had a major and minor that I might want to do. These were a major in chemistry and a minor in mathematics.

The library was truly amazing; I wish I could have stayed there longer. I really enjoyed the trip. It was fun to work on reporting and of course swimming was too. I think that the football coach’s speech about self motivation was, well, motivating. I am glad that our class had the wonderful opportunity to see a real college before we are even in middle school. Most people don’t visit a college until their Junior or Senior year in high school. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the students, teachers, and administrators who let us visit and helped us when we were there. This trip was fun, informative, and inspiring.

Castleton State College

by Jacob

The sixth grade kids of Westminister Center School walked out of the bus at Castleton State College, and into the bitter cold. All the kids were dressed in warm jackets, but they were still cold. They went in to the chapel, which was the oldest building in Castleton State College. They went up the stairs and into a big room with tables. The kids sat down and the people of Castleton told the kids they could get apple cider and donuts. They ate the donuts and drank the cider while they listened to some of people that go to Castleton State College.

Then the tour guides came to show the kids the college. A kid named Jacob went with the second group. His tour Gide’s name was Amanda. They went to the library they had a HUGE DCF row!!! After the tour they went to the lunch room. The kids got to eat as much as they wanted! After lunch they had ice cream. When they finished their ice cream the kids split up. Jacob went to a movie making place.They made three different shows. They were all funny. They all jumped in. They swam for forty five minutes. They said they had fun swimming and were sad to leave. Jacob thought the college was really cool. He said he never wanted to leave!!!!

Reflection of a Day at Castleton

by Serena

One of the things I liked about Castleton was the library. It was well organized and had a good selection of books. They even had a DCF section! They also really seemed to want us there. The teachers also seemed really involved. They showed us pretty much everything and let us take some pictures and swim in the pool.

It surprised me that they didn’t act surprised to see us when not all of them could have known we were coming.

In all I think it was a good college and that they were well prepared.

Going to Castleton State College

by Tess

“Hi my name is Cristy, and I want to go to Castleton State College,” said Cristy.

“Well, Cristy what makes you want to go here?” asked the interviewer.

“Well, I don’t know what I want to be yet. But Castleton shows a lot of options for a career,” said Cristy.

“What are you good at?” asked the interviewer.

“Art, basketball, swimming and acting,” said Cristy.

“We have an art center for drawing, music and acting. We also have a basketball team and a big pool,” said the interviewer.

“Yeah, but, what about the classes?” asked Cristy.

“You have straight A’s and all the classes are great. You can be anything you want to be,” said the interviewer.

“All right, thanks,” said Cristy.

“We’ll see in a week if you get in or not,” said the interviewer.

One week later…

“Cristy your letter’s here,” said Cristy’s mom.

“Let me read it,” said Cristy.

Dear Cristy,

Your grades are amazing and your skills are great. You also have straight A’s in all your classes and extra credit by joining clubs and the basketball team. We see greatness from you. We welcome you to Castleton.

Sincerely ,

Castleton State College

“I did it. I’m going to Castleton,” said Cristy.

“Cristy, I’m so happy for you. My little girl is growing up,” said Cristy’s mom with tears in her eyes.

After Cristy packed her things and said good bye to her parents, she drove to the college and met her roommate.

“Um, hi my name’s Cristy,” she said.

“Oh, hi. I’m Jessie your roommate,” said Jessie.

“So is this my bed?” asked Cristy.

“Yeah,” said Jessie.

“How are the classes?” asked Cristy.

“Oh they’re so great. I just love the art classes. I think my career is being an artist. What about you?” asked Jessie.

“I don’t really know yet,” said Cristy.

“Don’t worry about it,” said Jessie.

“Yeah,” said Cristy.

The next day…

“Hey, Cristy. Wake up!” yelled Jessie.

“Ah!” yelled Cristy.

“Sorry didn’t mean to scare you. Do you want to go to the gym?” asked Jessie.

“Uh, sure,” said Cristy.

Jessie and Cristy walked to the gym and worked out. After that, Cristy and Jessie went to the art center and took an art class.

“I think I know what I want to be, an artist,” said Cristy.

“Hey! So do I,” said Jessie.

Two years later…

“I really like Castleton,” said Cristy.

“Why?” asked Jessie.

“Because the classes are great, the art center rocks, the pool is great, so is the food. You can get tutors, plan what time and day your classes schedule, the basketball court is really awesome to play on,” said Cristy.

“Is that all?” asked Jessie.

“No, the best thing about coming here was meeting you. You’re like a sister to me,” said Cristy

“Really?” asked Jessie.

“Yes,” said Cristy.

Cristy and Jessie hugged.

The End

My Day at Castleton

by Austin

After I got off the bus I went to the chapel. I went upstairs with my fellow students and then we had to go to these round tables. Then we got some golden, crisp, brown, sugary, apple-cider doughnuts and some cold, sweet, apple cider.

Then a Spartan’s coach came to talk to us. The Spartans are Castleton’s football team. Then two students came and told us how it takes time to find the right college. These boys play college football. They went to one college before Castleton but now they said they were in the right college. Then we went on a tour and it was cool. But for a small town it has a huge college. Then we had lunch. We had a lot to eat and we got to have soda. I had Mountain Dew. Then my friends and I got to make a movie. It was awesome. Then we went swimming. I had a lot of fun with my buds swimming and that was my day at Castleton. Also it was my first time at a college. I think I will go there.

Reflections about Castleton

by Shanali

Going To Castleton College Is .

Meeting new people,

Believing in a good future,

Tackling all your school work,

Living in dorms with other people,

Testing your abilities to believe in yourself,

Deciding what job you are going to want to do,

Being responsible for your own life,

Getting to eat great food,

Learning new things,

Swimming in a pool,

Great teachers,

Working hard,

Independence.

Castleton Trip

by Rachael

Yesterday morning I went to Castleton State College and I had the best time ever. The first thing I did was go on a two hour trip on the bus with all my friends to get to the college. It wasn’t very fun but then we got there. We went into a place that looked like a church but it was called the chapel, which was the oldest building on campus. After that we got talked to in the chapel by John Paul who organized our trip, then the football coach and the football players, and finally the admissions director. We got apple cider and doughnuts. As we left the chapel the sixth grade students got split up into two groups, both of the groups had tours around the campus.

I was in the first group so I don’t know where the second group went after the chapel, but my group went to the fine arts center and in the fine arts center there were a lot of great pictures of woman. There were a lot of people working very quiet and focused as my group quietly walked in. After that, my group went in to the gym and saw all the people running on treadmills and lifting weights and much more but in the same building there was a twelve foot deep pool that we got to swim in at the end of the day. Before we went swimming and after we visited the gym we ate lunch. We had tons of choices – it was great. But one of the best things we did was man on the street. Man on the street is interviewing people on campus and we asked them this question, “What do you see yourselves doing in 10 years and where will you be?” We got some really boring answers and some really exciting awesome answers and some of the answers are going in the school newspaper. And after man on the street both groups went swimming and that was a blast but then after swimming we had to go back on the bus and another two hour ride!

Castleton State College

by Brendan

I like Castleton because they let our sixth grade go onto their campus and have a free tour around the campus and let us stay there and swim in their pool and eat lunch there. We got to take pictures of stuff or people so they can put it in their own newspaper.

When we first got there they gave us donuts and apple cider and then their assistant football coach told us to close our eyes and try to picture our future we wanted and then keep that picture for the rest of our lives. He also brought two of his football players that just got voted for the team head captains and they both told us that they went to a different college but didn’t think it was the right college for them so they tried out Castleton and they said that they love it there. They had a classroom that they called it the fish bowl because it was glass windows all over the room and people could stop and look in like you are fish in a fish bowl. What I enjoyed was I was on the radio and the whole world could hear me that was listening to the radio station.

What I liked about Castleton State College

by Brian

What I like about Castleton is that inside it is very clean. Their school is all so very friendly. There were life guards that volunteered to watch us. The student that gave us the the tour of the campus also volunteered to show us the college. We did this thing when we had to interview some kid on the campus and they all were very friendly and they all had good answers to all of the questions for the college newspaper. They also gave us a good choice of food. When we walked into one of the class rooms they didn’t act like they didn’t want us there, they just went on with their normal day. This trip made me want to go to college even more.

Castleton State College Reflection

by Jacob

I think that Castleton is a great college that we were lucky to be able to visit. I think that the food was amazing and I wish that we could have stayed longer. The campus was huge compared to my school. I think that it might be small for a college. Castleton looks new. I know that the football field is new. The assistant football coach made a statement about life, it was kind of like he told us if we can see it, and we can believe it, we can do it, and make it through high school and further into school. There were also two football players, they said that they both went to different colleges and changed to Castleton school and they love it at Castleton.

I was surprised that they have computers in their desks like built into the desk. It made me think about my attitude and what I wanted to be. It also made me think about what college I wanted to go to.

I enjoyed working with the cameras and the lighting. It was fun to see the library because it is huge and has a lot of cool books that I liked. The people were very nice and answered my questions.

The day made me feel very good about college or my future past high school.

Castleton State Collage

By Eben

I think it was very nice that Castleton let us come and gave us donuts and cider when we got there. They also gave us a tour of the campus, dining hall, and let us use their recording equipment to make an interview. Then we swam in the pool. My favorite part was making the interview. I learned some of the parts of making a movie. I also learned that some of the buildings at Castleton are very old. It surprised me that they had DCF books in the library.

In conclusion I think it was very kind that they let us come to get us thinking about further education. I appreciate the hard work that went into the trip.