Recently, Pearl River Central Lower Elementary 1st grade classes went on a field trip on the “Polar Express” to visit Santa.
Four groups of first graders took the train ride from Thursday, Dec. 8, to Wednesday of this week to the Hattiesburg Park, where Santa awaited in his sleigh, candy canes in hand.
“It is a magical moment for the kids,” 1st grade teacher Marilyn Schielder said.
The field trip was an effort to replicate the movie Polar Express, where children woke in the middle of the night to see a magical train waiting in front of their house to take them on a journey to meet Santa. The field trip involved students parents and teachers boarding a school bus before heading to the Picayune Amtrak station to board the “Polar Express,” which was actually an Amtrak train.
Schielder said the trip was a special experience for the kids and parents for several reasons.
“Some of the kids and parents have never been on a train before, which is a fun experience for anyone. Add the fact that it’s taking us straight to Santa makes the trip that much better,” Schielder said.
Once the “Polar Express” arrived at Hattiesburg Park, the kids were free to play and mingle. The best part about the trip, Schielder said, was the chance for students to meet Santa. One at a time, the children sat on Santa’s lap and shared their Christmas wish lists, while taking a picture with Santa to remember the trip.
After a couple hours of frolicking in the park, the field trip continued with a visit to Krispy Kreme, where the kids got to see how the donuts are made, along with taking samples for the train ride back to school, where they had the option to watching the Polar Express movie.
“This is something the kids would usually never experience. It is not your ordinary field trip and there was a lot of anticipation from both the kids and parents,” Schielder said.
Schielder and the other 1st grade teachers at PRCLE said they would like to thank the Pearl River County School District for “fostering children’s imagination and being on board with the Polar Express field trip” for the fourth consecutive year, Schielder said.