The Middle School offers many opportunities to travel, some of which are required. Required trips to Key Largo and Big Bend National Park support the Middle School science curriculum and optional trips to New York City and London support the Middle School Fine Arts curriculum. Students also have the option of choosing a summer spanish immersion trip to Costa Rica where they have the opportunity to study and learn from native language speakers.
Included Trips
Seventh Grade Trip to Key Largo
As part of the middle school science curriculum, seventh grade students travel to the Marine Lab in Key Largo, Florida to study marine life and marine ecosystems. During this four-day trip students conduct labs, listen to lectures, and snorkle in the seagrasses, mangrove islands, and coral reefs.
Eighth Grade Trip to Big Bend
The eighth grade travels to Big Bend National Park for a five-night camping trip, which serves as the culminating activity for Earth Science and their Middle School experiences. The students hike the South Rim, learn about desert plant life, conduct land surveys, and experience the Sand Slide. Students also learn to work as a community by preparing meals, cleaning areas of camp, and sharing their thoughts and feelings about their experience at Big Bend.
Optional Trips
Eighth Grade Trip to New York City
The 8th grade trip to New York has been an annual Thanksgiving tradition since 1985. St. Andrew's offers students and parents the opportunity to travel to New York City for 5-days and 4-nights of excitement as part of the middle school fine arts curriculum. This fun-filled trip includes visits to places such as Times Square, the Financial District, the 9/11 Memorial, the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the American Museum of Natural History, Central Park, Ellis Island, & the Statue of Liberty. The group also takes in three shows, both on and off Broadway. Past favorites have included Wicked, Memphis, The Lion King, and Blue Man Group. In addition to experiencing the theatre of New York, the group was also given ample time to shop at some of the famous stores on Fifth Avenue such as FAO Schwartz, as well as practice their bargaining skills in Chinatown and try some of the delicious pastries in Little Italy. On Thanksgiving Day, the group attends the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade with 3 million other onlookers. The trip is a wonderful way to give students a taste of the "Big Apple" and is an experience that the eighth graders never forget!
Middle School Trip to London
The first Middle School trip to London took place during Spring Break in 2009. This biennial trip introduces seventh and eighth graders to the bustle and energy of London and its superb theatre community by allowing them to interact directly with the residents of London themselves, experiencing their way of life as a participant rather than simply an observer. The trip includes visits to notable locations such as Buckingham Palace for the Changing of the Guard, the British Museum, the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, and the reconstructed Globe Theatre. A day trip to Windsor by train allows students a chance to visit the town and tour the castle. In addition to all the fun during the day, nighttime gives the students a chance to experience London theatre as well as breathtaking views of the city from the London Eye.
Middle School Spanish Trip to Costa Rica
St. Andrew's Middle School students have the opportunity to participate in a two-week immersion experience in Costa Rica during the summer. Students live with a Costa Rican host family and attend small, intensive Spanish grammar and conversation classes in the mornings each weekday. In the afternoons, students are involved in a variety of cultural and ecotourism activities including a walking tour of the city, a soccer game against local youth, cooking classes, dance classes, river rafting, hiking, zip lining and rappelling down waterfalls. Students also spend two afternoons doing volunteer work at an orphanage and travel to other areas of Costa Rica including the beach and a cloud forest.