Class Trips?

[disney junky]

Do your schools still have class trips? I'm talking the end of the year traditional, not really educational trips. If not, why? If so, where and how are they funded.
We take members of the senior class to Six Flags and then on a Spirit Cruise from NJ on the Hudson. Any senior can go, but they pay most of the cost. We pay what we can from class money. This year it's $125 per kid unless they earned a discount by scoring well on the state standardized tests (I have feelings about that, but that's for another thread--the discount is $25).

 

[glitterkittyy]

Do your schools still have class trips? I'm talking the end of the year traditional, not really educational trips. If not, why? If so, where and how are they funded.
We take members of the senior class to Six Flags and then on a Spirit Cruise from NJ on the Hudson. Any senior can go, but they pay most of the cost. We pay what we can from class money. This year it's $125 per kid unless they earned a discount by scoring well on the state standardized tests (I have feelings about that, but that's for another thread--the discount is $25).

I'm not sure about senior trips, but our school district used to take kids to Disney once per year (talking elementary and middle school ages), but they no longer do so starting last year because of budget reductions and disallowing out-of-county travel. Last year, each of my children had one field trip at the end of the year. One was to the zoo and the other was to WonderWorks, which is out-of-county (explain that one to me lol).

 

[cristit14]

Our middle school does a trip during the last week of school to Six Flags. We have to pay for it though.

 

[almburr]

we do here. Most trip take around 3hrs to get there. Kids love it they get to ride on the big activity bus with tvs. parents follow behind in a large convoy. We do things like the zoo, museums, that type of things. The seniors get to take a bigger trip. This year there are only 6 seniors and their class is loaded around $7,000. I think they made plans to go to Corpus Christi. They can choose where they want to go and have to make the plans. I suggested that they go to WDW One year they went to San Francisco. They also fly.

 

[allison443]

Our elementary school (K-8) does end of the year school trips for each grade. Younger grades do things like a trip to a farm, medieval times, liberty science center, Franklin Institute. Sixth grade is a day trip to Philadelphia, seventh grade is a luncheon cruise with a dj.

The 8th grade trip is a day trip to NYC. First a tour of St. Patrick's Cathedral (it's a Catholic school), then lunch and games at ESPN Zone in Times Square, then a Broadway matinee (this year is Wicked, I believe). The kids really enjoy it. They get all dressed up and have a lot of fun!

The parents pay for the trips. However, our PTA pays for the bus transportation.

At my girls' high school, they run an end of the year trip to Six Flags for all four grades. Also there is a three day trip for juniors and seniors in the fall to places like Washington D.C., Philly, Boston. My kids haven't gone on that one due to scheduling conflicts. Those going on the trip pay for it.

 

[golfgal]

The middle school goes to a local amusement park, we pay for it. There is a all night senior party after graduation so they do that instead of a trip. The kids buy a ticket to attend plus the party committee (parents) get a lot of donations.

 

[kellyg403]

The middle school has an 8th grade end of year trip but we pay for the total cost plus any spending money. There have been band trips but senior trips have not been done here. Kinda odd to me that the 8th graders do it but not seniors. Now, they do have trips with the foreign language classes in the summer to Europe. They are also paid for by the parents...but they do do fundraisers in hopes of slimming down some of the costs.

Kelly

 

[cntrygal]

Our high school trips are as follows sophmore go to NYC for the day. They leave like at 5 in the morning and return about 3am the next day. Its about a 4-5 hr trip on a school bus.

the junior go to boston for an over night. 1 night in a hotel.

and the seniors get to choose where they want to go. when i was a sr. my class went to grad night at disney 3 nights in a hotel. This years seniors are going to phidelphia and lancaster pa. In the past other classes have gone to virgina beach, chicago, atlanta, montral, torento, NYC and one class went on a cruise.

 

[minkydog]

In our school system any trips that are planned to take place during the traditional school years, during school hours, must have some kind of educational component. So when the show choir went to NYC, they met with the cast of "Legally Blonde" for a short teaching seminar and then watched the show. Same thing when the band went to WDW--they visited a battleship in Tampa and played a concernt for some big event there. And then they went to the parks afterward.

But to just take a day out of school to go to the beach or Six Flags? Never happen.

 

[JerseyJanice]

In our elementary school, each grade had one trip per year that was funded by the PTO. Fourth grade, they go the Statute of Liberty and Ellis Island; fifth grade, they go to a sea-life center in Sandy Hook; sixth grade is a biggie--they see a Broadway show and have lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe.

In junior/senior high school, various clubs take trips. My son is in the marching band and has a very nice trip coming up in May. They will go to Philadelphia to see the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, then down to Virginia. They will stay overnight there and compete the next morning in a band competition in King's Dominion. They'll spend the rest of the day there, then go the next morning up to Baltimore where they'll go to the aquarium and take a trolley tour of Baltimore's historic sites.

We have a band parent's organization that does fund raising to pay for the trip. I'm not sure what the other clubs do, as I'm not involved, but all of the money for trips basically comes from the parents and/or fund raising.

 

[AllisonK]

My elementary school had a huge cookout/field day at the end of every year at a state park in RI. It was big - parents came and everything. It was always SO much fun!
In fifth grade our end of the year trip was to a water park on the cape - really fun, too. In 6th and 7th grade we went to the same water park for the end of the year chorus trip (well it was the music dept. trip).
8th grade was an overnight in NYC with my Spanish class. SO much fun!!! - and educational, too haha - we did Ellis Island (not Statue of Liberty, though - it was still closed in 2003) and the UN and South Street Seaport.
I didn't go on the big class trip that year to Canobie Lake Park in NH, but heard it was pretty much a waste of a day because it rained.
And then our end of the year drama club trip in 11th grade was to NYC to see a Broadway show - and because it wasn't "educational" we had to go after school let out. It was the longest day of my life and a big waste of money (bad seats to the show, WORST show I have EVER seen on Broadway, a terribly long bus ride and we did NOTHING else in the city).
All our other field trips that I remember were educational (Boston Museum of Science and New England Aquarium in 6th grade, Plymouth Plantation in elementary school) except for going to see the 2nd Harry Potter movie in 8th grade with my whole class and then singing the national anthem for the Pawtucket Red Sox in 6th and 7th grade with select chorus.

 

[BibbidiBobbidiBOO]

Between 4th and 8th grade my kids went to St. Augustine, Sea World, Epcot, Wild Adventures, Busch Gardens, all day trips. Sr. trip is Grad Night at either Universal or Disney. All of these are paid for by the parents. I think PTO covers fees for kids that can't afford it.

There are other "extra" trips for classes that are smaller groups. DC, New York, and Colorado are a few I remember.

 

[princess.chell]

I wish my senior class would take a trip, but its a huge class, for the area at least, with a little over 700 kids. I don't think a huge class trip would even be possible, I so wish we could go to Grad Night at Disney though...
However, we do have post prom. We have prom on Navy Pier in Chicago (like a 45 minute bus ride) then after we get on a ship, well I guess two because they split the class up, and ride around the lake for a few hours. The PTO and our Class Board raises funds to cut the cost but we have to pay some money for both prom and post prom.
In 8th Grade my middle school does the Washington D.C trip but only 100 of the 160 kids can go. First come first serve.
Oh how I wish for Grad Night though...

 

[Diane♥Disney]

My DS is going to Washington DC for for his 8th grade class trip. We have to pay $700.00 for him to go