A Day In America’s Oldest City

Robinson Students Take a Trip to St. Augustine

TJ Maiello, Staff Writer

January 30, 2026

On Thursday, Jan. 22, Robinson students visited the historic city of St. Augustine. The trip was organized by Mr. Cuervo and Ms. Espejo of the Spanish department. Their goal was to give students an opportunity to connect with Hispanic culture beyond the classroom. By all accounts, they succeeded.

St. Augustine was founded in 1565 by Spanish colonizers and is the oldest city in the United States. To this day, the city has maintained its impressive forts and cobblestone streets which create its iconic, old-timey ambiance. From the famous Ghost Tours to Ponce de Leon’s Fountain of Youth, the streets of St. Augustine are packed with impressive, centuries-old history and culture.

Students had an early start Thursday morning. The bus departed from Robinson around 7:00 a.m. Once the students arrived around 11:00, they visited the Oldest Store Museum, a popular attraction of St. Augustine. They experienced a recreation of a fully stocked hardware store from a century ago (circa 1908). The store showcased unique, century-old artifacts with an immersive demonstration by live actors playing the roles of a butcher, clerk and salesman.

“The museum was insightful into the lives of people back then,”Bryce Woody (’27) said. “Plus, everyone had a good time while learning some cool stuff.”

Students also had the chance to explore the city’s historic landmarks via the Old Town Trolley Tour. The tour stopped at Castillo de San Marcos, which is the oldest fort in the United States. The fort represents centuries of historic value, constructed by Spanish engineers to defend their New World claims and used as recently as the U.S. Civil War.

On the tour, students also visited the St. Augustine History Museum. The museum displays over 450 years of Florida history as well as the influences of Spain, Britain, and the U.S. on St. Augustine’s culture.

Another highlight of the trip was witnessing the impact of Henry Flagler on the town. He was a late 19th century industrialist who transformed the city into a fashionable location for tourists. He even has a college named after him (Flagler College).

“It was cool to see the architecture that he built,” Sarah Williams (’27) said. “I mean… to have a college named after your work, that’s impressive.”

Ms. Espejo, the Freshman and Junior IB Spanish teacher, was glad to see everyone enjoying themselves throughout the trip. She also strongly recommends the pizza in St. Augustine for anyone who may travel there in the future.

“I think a lot of students learned a lot about how the French, British, Spanish, and pilgrims interacted with each other, as well as a bunch of random facts about St. Augustine that have impacted our society and our world,” Espejo said.

Overall, the trip to St. Augustine proved to be a great success and seems to be a trip worth taking in the coming years. Not only did the students have fun with their friends (and got to miss a day of school), but they also had the opportunity to immerse themselves in St. Augustine’s rich and diverse history.

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About the Contributors

TJ Maiello, Staff Writer

TJ Maiello is an IB junior at Robinson and a Knight Writer entering his first year on the newspaper staff. Maiello’s favorite school activity is sports in Robinson, participating for two years in both varsity basketball and baseball, which taught him the idea of family by connections, not blood. “The baseball team is like a family, and I appreciate that because they’re a group of people to turn to whenever I’m going through something. It’s always nice have people to rely on like family in a school environment,” Maiello said Besides sports, Maiello’s extracurriculars included Criminal Justice Club and Hispanic Culture Club, both of which he founded, through this his ability to teach and give opportunities to both clubs. “With criminal justice, I try to spread awareness about professional opportunities in the legal system. And then for Hispanic culture, I try to teach people about different cultures within the Hispanic community and create a safe space for people to hang out with their Hispanic friends,” Maiello said. His after-school activities include hanging out with friends and doing a lot of homework. He’s also honing his skills with the electric guitar, working on creating a unique sound like his favorite music artists. “So recently I picked up the electric guitar and have been practicing that a lot, it’s kind of tough with school and sports to balance it out, but I’ve been trying to work on it as much as I can, so hopefully, I can get good at that in the next, like, year or so,” Maiello said. Maiello joined the newspaper, particularly in the hopes of bettering his skills in writing, taking the opportunity as a means of growth and development. “I’ve been pretty passionate about writing for quite a while now, so I kind of want to take the newspaper as an opportunity to better my skills through news.” (Profile by Jordan Lee)

Ashlin Sullivan, Staff Writer

Ashlin Sullivan is a first-year staff writer starting her first year in journalism. She is excited to get started with all the works of journalism. “Mrs. Webster was like do you want to join journalism?” she said. “And I said yes.” She has shown interest in taking photos for journalism, as well as writing stories that will be in the newspaper. “I want to take photos for a lot of stuff, and I also want to write opinion pieces,” she said. Taking her interests outside of journalism, she has various activities and hobbies that she enjoys taking part in. “I am on the soccer team, and I do like theatre and stuff, as well as acting and things related to that industry,” she said. Sullivan believes her experience will help greatly with her time in journalism. “I think I have a lot of skills photography wise; I have a lot of skills that would be helpful, and I know how to work a camera well,” she said. She aspires to go on to college after her time in the IB and even wants to go for a double major. “I want to go to FSU, and I want to double major in acting and psychology, and maybe even go pre med,” Sullivan said. Even with differing college aspirations, she still chases her likeliness towards acting. “I’ve been doing theatre for a while, I do like commercials sometimes when I can, and I just really enjoy it,” Sullivan said. As she treks through her junior year, she aims to keep up her good grades and expand her voice through the catalyst of journalism. (Profile by Jack Perkins)