This year, Poly Prep Middle School is attempting to reestablish the middle school trips, in which students will engage in team building activities, wilderness camps, historic sites, and more. Starting on September 12, Poly Prep Middle School initiated their first trip since pre-COVID in 2019.
After the pandemic in 2020, Poly Middle School had to retire the grade level trips from their agenda. With the uncertainty of travel and transportation during COVID, it became difficult to create a program that would engage middle school students outside of the classroom. Now, after a year of planning and feedback from parents and faculty, the trips will return. “Parents are looking to bring back those opportunities that were lost during COVID,” said Daniel Doughty, head of Poly Middle School.
Poly Middle School is working with various programs to make these trips happen. This includes Camp Mason, Mountain Workshop, and more. Both organizations work towards the idea of bonding and team building, which aligns with Poly’s goals for these trips. According to Camp Mason’s website, “Camp Mason sets campers up to experience growth, relationship building, and fun.” Similarly, Mountain Workshop aims to “help school populations develop and maintain a positive school climate,” according to their website. As the year progresses, Doughty hopes that these trips will allow students to “form new bonds [and] learn things about themselves that will help them in their individual grades and beyond.”
Each grade will go on their own trip. For example, on September 12, sixth graders worked with Mountain Workshop in the backfields of Poly. Seventh graders will have a day trip to Philadelphia on October 24. This trip will consist of visits to historic sites that will provide “a wide range of American experiences. Not just the typical visit to the Liberty Bell,” said Doughty. He is also hoping to work this seventh grade trip up to an overnight as it was previously, before COVID. Lastly, eighth grade students will have an overnight trip from September 30 to October 2 at Camp Mason in New Jersey, lasting three days and two nights. Fifth grade class trips are still being planned and decided.
Teachers and faculty have acknowledged the value of these trips and the opportunities they provide to connect with their students. “Our teachers have been really keen on being there for their students academically, socially, and emotionally. Everyone recognizes that this is an important thing to do,” said Amanda Rose, Middle School Dean.
Students similarly have expressed much excitement towards these trips. “I was really happy when I heard that there were going to be school field trips,” said Leo Capone, a current sixth grader.
Students have also acknowledged Poly’s goals to improve the student dynamic and efforts to teach peer bonding. Poppy Johnson in sixth grade explained, “There are 92 kids in our grade this year and it’s kind of difficult to get to know all of them, so it’s nice that we might be able to be paired up with someone we don’t know. Then we can learn their name and get to know them better.”
The benefits of these trips are explained by the Student and Youth Travel Association. They found, in 2016, that school field trips “increased willingness to know, learn, and explore” by 60 percent, “increased independence, self-esteem and confidence” by 56 percent, cultivated “better cooperation and collaboration” by 43 percent and much more.
These trips are explained to be important for fostering a positive academic environment and “always such a great opportunity for kids to really get to know each other, and for teachers to get to know the kids in a different way; to get off campus, to develop some independence and challenge themselves in ways that they can’t when they are here on campus,” said Doughty.
