Study trips provide incredible opportunities for students to experience the intersections between curriculum and the world beyond the classroom walls, build relationships, and learn about themselves and others. Below are the trips taken at each grade level. They are designed around the grade level themes and incorporate service learning opportunities.
6th Grade Trips
The White House Garden (by invitation)—Students visit the first floor and grounds of the White House and receive a tour of the organic vegetable garden started by Michelle Obama.
Calleva Backpacking and Adventure Trip—On this trip, students backpack, go rock climbing, camp along the Appalachian Trail, and then spend a day at the Calleva Farm learning about the sustainable farming techniques being implemented there.
Hindu Temple—Students visit a Hindu temple in nearby Maryland and meet with one of its founding members to learn about the religious life and customs of the temple.
New York City—Students spend three packed days exploring the culture and diversity of New York. They travel the city on foot, subway, and bus, walking through parks and neighborhoods and touring venues from Harlem to Chinatown. Highlights include Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater, lunch at Katz's Deli, visits to the Museum of Chinese in America and the U.N., and a tour of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.
7th Grade Trips
Antietem Battlefield—On this trip students see a Civil War battlefield looking very much as it did in the 1860s. Students walk the fields and lanes in order to understand the importance of controlling the high ground and to imagine what it might have been like to be a soldier. They learn how to use signal flags to gain an understanding of how communication took place during battle.
Newseum—Students visit the Newseum to learn how media reports reflected the struggle of the Civil Rights movement and helped to advance it.
Civil Rights and Soul: A Journey to the South—Students walk where the history and music they have studied happened. They visit the Civil Rights Institute in Birmingham, walk across the Pettus Bridge in Selma, and visit Sun Studios in Memphis. The trip culminates with a tour of the National Civil Rights Museum and the Lorraine Motel.
8th Grade trips
Costa Rica—This trip will be the culmination of students' sustainability studies in science and their Spanish language studies. They will travel to Costa Rica to participate in a service learning project.
Day trips are being planned.