CHESAPEAKE — There will be a lot of pasta tossed and tables bussed before a group of Chesapeake students get their reward.

But when they do they will have the chance to combine learning with hanging out, all done at the nation’s capital.

“We decided to take our eighth graders on a trip to Washington, D.C.,” said Veronica Angle, fifth grade history teacher and trip organizer. “We researched different (travel) companies …. What is different about this is they do lessons along with the tours.”

On the itinerary will be the Vietnam Veterans Memorial where a veteran will talk about that war.

“When they go see the Martin Luther King statue, there will be an assignment,” Angle said. “It won’t be ‘on your right is … and on your left is’ … It is more interactive.”

To come up with the $425 per student cost for the trip the school is planning fundraisers. The first is a school dance open only to Chesapeake students where students who raise the most money can become prince and princess of the dance.

On Feb. 10, the school is hosting a spaghetti dinner from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the middle school cafeteria.

“The parents are donating the food and the parents are cooking,” Angle said. “We are involving the eighth graders by asking them to be there to help clean up the tables and wait tables. We are encouraging the eighth graders to participate in earning their trip.”

Adults in the community are also raising money for the trip, including providing the funding for individual students.

“There are people who have said ‘I would like to sponsor one child,’” Angle said.

But even those students who have sponsors are expected to participate in the fundraising activities. All this is part of teaching the students responsibility.

“We want the kids to have a good time, but we also want them to learn about their country and become enthusiastic, patriotic citizens,” she said. “The kids on this trip, this is a new level in their growing up because they are going to be with their friends. That is different from going with their parents. The kids will be sharing rooms with other kids. It is one of those phases of growing up.”