On Oct. 27 Halverson fifth-graders went on a virtual field trip to Scholastic’s New York headquarters to participate in an interview with country singer Taylor Swift, who is a passionate supporter of reading and writing. Students were inspired by the role literacy has played in her hard-working road to success. Her message is to celebrate the importance and enjoyment of reading every day.

On Nov. 16 those same students ventured back in time to the Plimoth Plantation via an online field trip. They met a Pilgrim family and a Wampanoag Indian. Through live reenactments students were able to compare and contrast the two cultures and get an up close and personal look at life in 1620 — all of which addressed the Minnesota fifth-grade Social Studies standards involving understanding, identifying and analyzing the colonization of America. Students are currently in the midst of their first research project called “You are the Historian” where they have taken on the role of and are becoming experts on the Mayflower Passengers, the Plimoth Colonists or the Wampanoag Indians.