All field trips are under the direct supervision of teachers. Trips will be well organized and well managed to provide enrichment and safety for students. Teachers will set the guidelines for all trips and will manage chaperones and their responsibilities with students.
- Parents are encouraged to participate in field trips. Chaperones must stay with their assigned group and, in order to be fully engaged for the duration of the field trip, must limit cell phone use to trip-related communication so that students are appropriately supervised. Criminal Background Checks are required for every adult chaperoning a field trip (See Background Check Policy). Based on the trip, the number of parents serving as chaperones may be limited.
- An up-to-date Emergency Information Form must be on file before a child may participate in field trips. Parents should contact the teacher before trip departure if a student is going to be absent on a field trip day.
- A signed parental consent form must be received no later than two days prior to the event or when designated by the teacher. If parental consent has not been received, the child must remain on school property.
- If parents choose for their child to opt-out of a class field trip, the student will be given assignments to meet the objectives of the trip.
- If not otherwise specified, assume that the school dress code is appropriate.
Activity Fee (Lower Campus)
A one-time activity fee is assessed via your Blackbaud account in September for each Lower Campus student to cover the cost of single-day local field trips (both in-house and off-site) for the academic year. Overnight or full-day field trips (examples: fifth-grade Wilmington trip, and the sixth-grade Spiritual Life Retreat) are not included in this fee. In addition, this fee does not cover expenses associated with enrichment classes as these are electives and not applicable to all students equally.
Overnight Field Trips
GRACE conducts several overnight field trips, international enrichment trips (HS), and mission trips (MS/ HS). All adults and students participating must attend a meeting to learn about the expectations for each particular trip.
Social Media
As part of our ongoing commitment to safety, we ask that parents not share pictures or posts from field trips until the students have returned to the school.
Chaperone Responsibilities
Chaperones for field trips are required to be screened through our visitor management security system (Securly) and may be required to have a driving history check. The administration reserves the right to decline a chaperone.
A chaperone’s responsibility is to ensure the safety and compliance of students. The chaperone will be assigned a group of students that they are directly responsible for during the field trip. The chaperone is under the direction of the teacher and should follow all field trip instructions and school policies (for instance, no consumption of alcohol or use of tobacco products). Chaperones shall receive the following and are expected to review the information before the field trip:
- A detailed map of the route including stops, and a schedule of the day’s events.
- A list of student behavior expectations and consequences (all school policies should be enforced).
- Transportation Procedures.
- Emergency Information packets.
The teacher assigns all carpool, room, and tour groups which cannot be altered by chaperones or students. Chaperones not properly following the expectations and directions will not be permitted on future trips. Chaperones are expected to pay for themselves, and siblings are not permitted to attend field trips unless specifically invited.
Rules for the buses are listed in the General Policies section of this handbook under the heading Transportation.
