Middle School/High School Trips

[anniemae]

Is your ms or hs doing any overnight trips this year? Our middle school usually does a trip in the fall. They stay overnight for 3 nights at a camp about 2 hours away and sleep in cabins and do team building/outward bound type activities. Obviously last year was canceled due to covid but I was surprised to learn it is happening this fall given the delta variant spreading. My child is past the age to go, but I have friends who have kids that are in the grades going, 6th and 7th grade. They are feeling conflicted and I honestly didn't know what to tell them. Would you feel okay with sending your child?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Is your ms or hs doing any overnight trips this year? Our middle school usually does a trip in the fall. They stay overnight for 3 nights at a camp about 2 hours away and sleep in cabins and do team building/outward bound type activities. Obviously last year was canceled due to covid but I was surprised to learn it is happening this fall given the delta variant spreading. My child is past the age to go, but I have friends who have kids that are in the grades going, 6th and 7th grade. They are feeling conflicted and I honestly didn't know what to tell them. Would you feel okay with sending your child?

Not unless all the counselors/kids are vaccinated. And masks are required.

 

[Kittyblue]

Our district cancelled all field trips for this school year.

 

[anniemae]

Not unless all the counselors/kids are vaccinated. And masks are required.

that was my thought too. I'm not sure about masks, I would assume they would need to wear them indoors. Not sure what they do when sleeping. Maybe space them 6 ft apart? As for vaccination, many of the kids are 11, so not eligible yet.

 

[Colleen27]

I really hope our school does their usual trips. It would be sort of bunk for them to have the kids in classrooms, unmasked, and then say it is too dangerous to have the same group together in a different location!

Last year, winter camp got cancelled but the 8th grade trip happened. This is DD13's 8th grade year and I'm really hoping they're able to do both - camp has been a tradition at her school for generations and one of the best parts about middle school, and the class trip is a wonderful send-off before the kids all go their separate ways for high school. But we're preparing her for the possibility that neither one will happen. If this year follows the same pattern as last year, things will just be getting really bad here around the time the decisions about whether to proceed are being made.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Would you feel okay with sending your child?

No. I am surprised they still have it scheduled. Hopefully sometime before the trip is to take place it will be canceled. Can't imagine a bunch of middle schoolers together for 3 days, sleeping in cabins together, unvaccinated.

 

[emmybee]

There's a trip planned for April to take a tour of the East Coast. My girl is vaccinated, and the kids will be masked. I don't generally buy trip insurance, but I made sure to get it for this trip. It's too much money to lose if they need to cancel because of stupid covid.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I know in 6th grade they do an overnight trip to a camp. I have no idea if they did it last year or the year before since my daughter is in high school. I’m guessing it was cancelled for 2020 since it’s usually around May and that’s when schools were shutdown but I’m willing to bet they had it this year.

But the high school did do their senior trips in March 2020 (they made it back a few days before WDW shutdown) and March 2021. Both to WDW and it’s planned for March 2022.

I would be ok sending my child. Like @Colleen27 said. They can be in class together but not on a trip? Also kids in my neighborhood have been hanging out since covid started. You’d see them outside, hanging out, having sleepovers, riding bikes, at the park, etc.

 

[design_mom]

I have not heard of any overnight trips happening this fall. There are still some on the books for spring, but we'll see if they happen.

My daughter is a high-school senior. The marching band usually takes a trip once every 4 years (so each "class" gets the opportunity to do it once.) The trip was supposed to be last year to London. It was canceled due to covid and rescheduled for this year over winter break. My daughter said it's unlikely to happen this year either. She is very disappointed, although I have mixed feelings. I'm disappointed for her, but... I think it's the right decision.

 

[MamaMermaid]

HS teacher here. I am the SGA advisor so we usually travel multiple times over the year. We haven't been told anything yet... and we are in week 4 of school.

 

[fly girl]

My dd's school has at least two 8th grade trips scheduled. One is a camp in October for 1 night/2 day stay. The other is not until April 2022, and that is to Kings Island. I am so glad they are bringing them back. They have taken away so much over the last 18 months, it is nice to see some normalcy resume.

 

[OneOftheB's]

My daughter is in 6th grade and her school takes the 6th grade to Key Largo. The school has tentatively planned it for this Spring (it's usually a Fall trip).

I would send mine. I don't know about your friend's school, but my daughter's school is face to face, the teachers are vaccinated, and as many of the kids hit 12, they are getting vaccinated.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

I don't know about MS anymore, my daughter entered HS last year but did it remotely because of the pandemic. But, I was shocked to received an email a couple of months before school ended for the 2020-2021 school year for a video seminar for students and parents interested in sending their child on an international trip. They were going to 2 places, Australia was one but I don't remember the other.

 

[mrodgers]

No. I am surprised they still have it scheduled. Hopefully sometime before the trip is to take place it will be canceled. Can't imagine a bunch of middle schoolers together for 3 days, sleeping in cabins together, unvaccinated.

They are together all day every day for 9-10 months, what the heck is sleeping going to contribute to?


Mine is a Senior and for the Senior trip they go to NYC. I don't know if that's on for this year or not, I'd rather she not go to NYC. She is worried they will be canceling because she's been looking forward to the Senior trip for a couple years now.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

I wouldn’t even feel comfortable sending my kid to in-person school this fall, so no.

 

[leahgoogle]

My senior has his senior trip to Washington DC in the spring. So far that is still on (we have a meeting about it later this month). I would let my 8th grader go on an overnight trip if they had one. They are in school together all day and play sports together all unmasked anyway.

ETA: I should mention that my daughter and her friends all either have natural immunity or have gotten the vaccine. We have a small school so the kids that they would be going on the trip with would be kids they are around frequently.

 

[lifesavacation]

I probably wouldn't send an unvaccinated child, but would have no hesitation if my child was vaccinated.

 

[monsterkitty]

Is your ms or hs doing any overnight trips this year? Our middle school usually does a trip in the fall. They stay overnight for 3 nights at a camp about 2 hours away and sleep in cabins and do team building/outward bound type activities. Obviously last year was canceled due to covid but I was surprised to learn it is happening this fall given the delta variant spreading. My child is past the age to go, but I have friends who have kids that are in the grades going, 6th and 7th grade. They are feeling conflicted and I honestly didn't know what to tell them. Would you feel okay with sending your child?

Retired teacher here but my DH is still teaching middle school.

First, masks are mandatory for all staff and students regardless of age or vaccination. This is week three of the school year. DH's school has twice as many of COVID cases as they did all of last year. With the exception of 3 students who have a class together, none of the other students have any contact with one another during the school day so they're pretty sure it hasn't been spread at school.

So where did they all get COVID? There were a few sleepover parties after school started and every one of the students who have tested positive were at one of those sleepovers.

Second, we have very good friends who took a multigenerational family vacation to Alaska. All eligible family members have been vaccinated, there were two under 12 who were not vaccinated. They traveled and slept in two RV's and as well as cabins. Every family member returned home last week and tested positive for COVID.

I would absolutely not send my child to an overnight trip at this time. Yes I realize that the friends who hang out do so at each other's homes without wearing masks. However, putting them in a more confined space such as a bedroom, hotel room, or cabin type room were they are sleeping, talking, etc for 8 hours without masks is not a good idea in my mind.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Retired teacher here but my DH is still teaching middle school.

First, masks are mandatory for all staff and students regardless of age or vaccination. This is week three of the school year. DH's school has twice as many of COVID cases as they did all of last year. With the exception of 3 students who have a class together, none of the other students have any contact with one another during the school day so they're pretty sure it hasn't been spread at school.

So where did they all get COVID? There were a few sleepover parties after school started and every one of the students who have tested positive were at one of those sleepovers.

Second, we have very good friends who took a multigenerational family vacation to Alaska. All eligible family members have been vaccinated, there were two under 12 who were not vaccinated. They traveled and slept in two RV's and as well as cabins. Every family member returned home last week and tested positive for COVID.

I would absolutely not send my child to an overnight trip at this time. Yes I realize that the friends who hang out do so at each other's homes without wearing masks. However, putting them in a more confined space such as a bedroom, hotel room, or cabin type room were they are sleeping, talking, etc for 8 hours without masks is not a good idea in my mind.

Well said, sad as it is though.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Retired teacher here but my DH is still teaching middle school.

First, masks are mandatory for all staff and students regardless of age or vaccination. This is week three of the school year. DH's school has twice as many of COVID cases as they did all of last year. With the exception of 3 students who have a class together, none of the other students have any contact with one another during the school day so they're pretty sure it hasn't been spread at school.

So where did they all get COVID? There were a few sleepover parties after school started and every one of the students who have tested positive were at one of those sleepovers.

Second, we have very good friends who took a multigenerational family vacation to Alaska. All eligible family members have been vaccinated, there were two under 12 who were not vaccinated. They traveled and slept in two RV's and as well as cabins. Every family member returned home last week and tested positive for COVID.

I would absolutely not send my child to an overnight trip at this time. Yes I realize that the friends who hang out do so at each other's homes without wearing masks. However, putting them in a more confined space such as a bedroom, hotel room, or cabin type room were they are sleeping, talking, etc for 8 hours without masks is not a good idea in my mind.

This thread I posted back in December, albeit before both the delta variant and available vaccines, does make a point of being close together (same room/s), unmasked, unvaccinated. .

https://www.disboards.com/threads/covid-super-spreading-family-we-know-our-friend-has-passed-away.3820297/