What field trips gave the best memories for Great Falls students?

Growing up in a small town, certain shared experiences and school traditions were part of the glue that kept our community close. Years down the road and long past graduation my friends and I can still reminisce about the class field trip to Mt. Rushmore, or the time I emceed our senior homecoming. While I didn’t grow up in Great Falls, I have plenty of friends here who did, and it got me thinking. What are some of the common traditions that students experience while attending school in Great Falls, Montana?

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After talking with my friends, several memories were shared and it became clear that Great Falls students have to undergo certain “rights of passage” in their education. One common memory everyone seemed to share is attending the cross-town parade followed by the cross-town football game in the fall of every year. High schoolers celebrate cross-town all week long, while younger students remember getting picked up early from class to attend the parade. Whether you are a Rustler or Bison fan, Great Falls can agree: we love our high schoolers and we love football. Every year the town goes all out when our two AA football teams square off in the annual cross-town match.

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Also, did you know there is a hundred-year old Komodo dragon living in the City of Great Falls Water Treatment Plant? Former GFPS students can all remember being driven to the water treatment facility, probably by a bus driver named “Hawk-Eye,” to learn about water purification and ancient lizards lurking in the shadows. The water facility wasn’t the only field trip "Hawk-Eye" would take you on, however.

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Through the district’s Environmental Education program, students visited the Benton Lake Wildlife Refuge, Black Eagle Dam, Planetarium, and other exciting locations. Sadly, the district’s Environmental Education Program, that taught students for generations, was cut several years ago due to budget shortfalls.

What are some of your favorite field trips you got to go on? Let us know through the app or on our social media.

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