In the arts, the fifteenth biennial Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival will take place Oct. 23–26 in Newark’s Downtown Arts District. Poets who will be performing will include Billy Collins and Mark Doty, according to dodgepoetry.org.​

 
 Upperclassmen from Folio and Writer’s Craft will attend, according to English Teach- er Mr. Peter Horn. He said that attendees “have a lively encounter with contemporary poetry, hearing it spoken and sung by art- ists from across the country and around the world.” Senior Emma Williams said that she is excited to talk to the poets about their work.

 
Environmental Science classes will be visiting Sandy Hook this month to study salt marshes. This field trip is important to the class because of its fieldwork nature, accord- ing to Environmental Science Teacher Ms. Judith McLoughlin. She added, “You never know what we will find.”

 
McLoughlin said she hopes that her stu- dents gain a better understanding of the “dy- namics of ocean accretion and erosion, ad- aptations of plants in a maritime forest…and

 
why salt marshes…need to be saved through legislation.”

Senior Julie Brownstone, who went on the trip last year, said: “It definitely enhanced my understanding of what we were learning. [It] helped me…connect what we learned to something real.”

 
Also, students interested in attending his- torically black colleges and universities will be able to attend a college fair at Raritan Valley Community College on Nov. 20. Ac- cording to ed.gov, “HBCUs offer all students, regardless of race, an opportunity to develop their skills and talents.” Students have the op- portunity to be accepted on-site, have their college application fees waived or be offered scholarships, according to Special Services Teacher Ms. Gail Alston.
 

Alston hopes that students will gain “an understanding that grades are a vital part of being accepted to the college of their choice and will…take advantage of the great educa- tion Westfield offers” after going on the trip.
 

Senior Jason Previlon said that the trip was valuable when he attended as a sophomore. He plans to return this year for more informa- tion on Howard University.

 
For a description of other field trips this fall, visit whshiseye.com.