Trips & Travel

Class Outings

Primary

Occasionally, the extended-day children in Primary may have a field trip with their class. Parents will be informed of trips at least one week in advance for short (one-day) field trips. Permission for trips is coordinated through Magnus.

Elementary

Going out on trips is encouraged for Elementary students. Although whole-group field trips are taken, outings in the Lower and Upper Elementary are mainly initiated by small groups of children under the guidance of the teacher. The purpose of this going out is to foster independence by making connections with the world beyond the school community to support ongoing classroom work.

Parents will be informed of whole-class trips at least one week in advance for short (one-day) field trips. For longer trips that include overnight stays, there will be at least one month’s advance notice. Permission for trips is coordinated through Magnus.

Middle School & High School

Middle and High School students are often on the school’s extended campus around the Houston Museum District. This is a core part of the Middle and High School experiences and extends student work directly into real-world connections and applications. These excursions support the growing independence of adolescents and provide context to the courses of study.

Overview and Guidelines for Class Outings

Traveling off-campus requires a great deal of trust. For any of the following trips to take place, parents must trust teachers and administration to choose locations and experiences that are safe, developmentally appropriate, relevant to the Montessori curriculum and enriching. Traveling provides additional freedom within limits, so teachers must trust the students to behave in a safe, responsible manner.

The trips are an integral part of the core academic experience. Students are expected to participate. At the same time, participation in the trips is a privilege and not a right. Each student’s behavior must give their teacher the confidence that the safety of all participants and the integrity of the trip can be maintained at all times without the need for constant, one-on-one supervision. If teachers do not have confidence in a student’s ability to handle themselves appropriately, the student will not be allowed to travel. The student will stay home from school on these days and will be counted absent.

Students are expected to follow the school dress guidelines on trips at all times. Some sites, programs, or meals may require special dress. Changes in dress guidelines for these special sites or events will be communicated by your child’s teacher in advance.

On trips, students are expected to follow classroom and school guidelines for their behavior. Depending upon the circumstances, the need may arise for teachers to create guidelines unique to a particular setting (behavior in a hotel, for example). These expectations will be communicated prior to the trip. A student may be asked to leave a school trip if his/her actions, comments, or language:

compromises the physical or mental safety or well-being of the individual, another person, or the entire community; and/or
violates the trust of the adult chaperones and guardians in such a way that the activities/functions of the school trip cannot be carried out effectively.

The sections below describe the trips as well as the rationale for decreasing levels of direct supervision. As students move toward adolescence and beyond, they naturally strive to try on adult roles. Our aim is to provide opportunities for students to exercise this natural inclination in safe, positive ways. An intentional, planned balance of freedom within limits is necessary for students to exercise their independence and experience the satisfaction that comes with being trusted and taking responsibility for oneself.

Overnight Travel Policy

Elementary

For children in Elementary and beyond, the classroom experience is not enough. They are seekers, trying to understand the wider world—the natural environment as well as the physical and social worlds built by humans—and their place in it. Reading books, looking at pictures, watching videos, or listening to stories can help. These are necessary but not sufficient. First-hand experience deepens understanding and makes ideas both concrete and memorable. Beyond this, travel provides a real opportunity for community building, and the development of practical life experiences beginning with planning the days, making arrangements for airline tickets and hotel accommodations, and packing your bags. It then extends to money management, navigating the subway, using a hand net to collect specimens, paddling a canoe, cooking for 20, and dishwashing, as well as many chances to practice grace and courtesy. Guided by their classroom teachers, children develop practical and social skills to become increasingly independent and savvy travelers. It is no wonder that neuropsychologist Stephen Hughes said, “Montessori kids are good at doing things.”

Lower Elementary

Going Out (Direct Preparation for Overnight Travel)

In Lower Elementary, children are introduced to “going out,” an activity discussed by Maria Montessori as a way to connect the children’s work in the classroom to the world beyond school and family. Going out is a type of outing involving small groups of children, ideally two to three. These off-campus trips are planned by the children with the support of the teacher to enhance, enrich, and extend learning. Ideas for going out may spring from lessons or individual interests. Parent drivers are at times utilized. Each going out has a specific purpose, requires preparation, and may involve follow-up work in the classroom. Going out continues throughout a child’s elementary years. Classes also take field trips, traveling as a group to special programs and events.

Camp Allen

Lower Elementary students look forward to third grade when they get to take their first overnight trip. For some students, spending the night away from home at Camp Allen, located about an hour northwest of Houston, is their first experience staying overnight away from family or family friends. This trip is chaperoned by our four Lower Elementary teachers and parent volunteers. At Camp Allen, third graders spend two days engaged in a variety of outdoor education activities. Camp counselors divide the students into groups and lead the activities. The first day ends with a campfire, skits performed by the students, and a nighttime game exploring the behavior of nocturnal animals. Students sleep in cabins on stilts and use a separate restroom facility complete with individual hot showers. A teacher or parent chaperone will stay in each cabin. The group returns at the end of the second day by 3:00 p.m.

Upper Elementary

Fall Adventure/Environmental Education and The Flora, Fauna of Texas

In the fall, all three Upper Elementary classes travel for four days and three nights to Nature’s Classroom Institute (NCI) in New Ulm, Texas. Classes travel by charter bus. Chaperones include the three Upper Elementary teachers and two or three volunteers, depending upon the number of students attending. In addition to experiencing a greater amount of independence, students enjoy outdoor team building activities and study a variety of topics in a fun, active setting. Students enjoy NCI each year because of the fun traditions and team-building experiences. Activities and class content change each year so that no two camp visits are the same. Learn more at https://discovernci.org/.

Williamsburg, Virginia

The highlight of overnight travel in Elementary is the sixth grade trip to Colonial Williamsburg. This uniquely developed and operated township serves as an ideal setting to experience and study American history. Hotel accommodations are near the Colonial Williamsburg settlement, and the group travels throughout the week by chartered coach. This week-long excursion, which also includes historic Yorktown and Jamestown, is packed with too many events, programs, and special meals to mention here.

Middle School

Overnight trips at the Elementary level have prepared students for extended weeks of overnight travel in our adolescent program. The Middle School trips are fully integrated into the curriculum and represent some of the best opportunities for personal growth and community building that the program has to offer. Students complete trip planning and/or meal planning for these excursions. Permission slips, packing lists, and itineraries for each trip will be sent via Magnus to parents at least one week prior to the first day of the trip.

Dr. Montessori described the development of the adolescent as mirroring that of the infant/toddler. The infant/toddler is busy with the task of development of identity apart from objects around them, and then apart from their closest caregivers. The adolescent is busy with the task of identity development in the context of the larger world—their place in society. In order to accomplish this, they need to be provided with opportunities to try on adult roles and interact fully independent of the institutions of family and school. Traveling with teachers and classmates provides a valuable context in which to explore the positive development of identity within a supportive Middle School community, to contribute to that community in positive ways, and to experience academic work in other settings. For these reasons, parents do not serve as chaperones for Middle School trips.

All Post Oak Middle School policies are followed while traveling. These policies address but are not limited to the dress code and safety expectations. A student may be asked to leave a school trip if his/her actions, comments, or language:

Compromises the physical or mental safety or well-being of the individual, another person, or the entire community; and/or
Violates the trust of the adult chaperones and guardians in such a way that the activities/functions of the school trip cannot be carried out effectively.

Students will call home at predetermined dates and times during the course of the trip. Parents should contact the Middle School director in case of an emergency.

High School

As in the Middle School program, High School travel is a fully integrated component of the program. High School trips give students the opportunity to explore their capacity for making their way in the world while giving them access to academic and social experiences calibrated to their own tendency to explore the varieties of social, economic, environmental relationships, cultures, heritages, and sites of human endeavor.

Each year, all High School students take part in the Odyssey Trip and High School Retreat. The Odyssey Trip occurs during the second week of school and is a one-week domestic trip that serves the twin purposes of (1) building community across all grades and between students and faculty and (2) providing arresting academic experiences to whet students’ appetite for learning in the school year to come. The Retreat is an overnight stay at a nearby camp facility during the last week of the school year and provides a relaxed time and place for collective bonding and reflection prior to the summer break.

Regular domestic and international travel opportunities occur as part of the two-week J- and A-Term courses. There are two kinds of J- and A-Term trips: student-led trips and field schools. Student-led trips are proposed by students and are designed so that the student participants will manage the logistical organization and take charge of the day-to-day responsibilities of travel, with the accompanying adults serving as observers, consultants, and emergency support. These trips give students the opportunity to choose the purpose and destination of travel, work collaboratively, and explore the limits of their capacity for independence. Field schools are proposed by faculty and provide students the opportunity to be a part of ongoing projects that develop over time and that students themselves would not otherwise be able to conceive or organize. Field schools provide adolescents opportunities for cultural immersion, skill specialization, and international relationship-building.

All High School trips have the following characteristics:

Consistent adult supervision is provided for health and safety.
All expenses are covered by tuition from departure to return, not including snacks and souvenirs.
No electronics are allowed. (Cameras are encouraged!)
All school rules, norms, and policies (including appearance policy) apply throughout the trip, as well as trip-specific rules necessary for group safety.
All trip permissions and authorizations, as well as medication forms, must be uploaded to Magnus prior to travel.
All medications, including OTC, are administered by faculty in accordance with school policy.

Communication

Overnight trips are included in the calendar for each school year. The permission form, packing list, and any guidelines unique to a particular trip will be provided to parents in Magnus at least two weeks in advance of the trip.

Trips are a time for community building, and we understand that communication is sometimes needed between students and parents. Students will be allowed to call home during the trip within the guidelines set by the teacher. If you require emergency contact with your child, you may call the school or the emergency contact number provided by your child’s teacher.

Transportation

Hotel rooms

When considering hotel arrangements, we work to balance safety with developmentally appropriate freedom. For Upper Elementary children, a teacher or parent chaperone will be in the room or in an adjoining room. Middle School and High School students occupy rooms only with other students. Teachers occupy adjacent or nearby rooms on the same floor. For more specific information, contact your child’s classroom teacher.

First aid

Early return from a school trip

A student may need to return home early from a trip due to illness. Parents will be consulted for this decision.
A student may be escorted home early from a school trip (at the expense of the parents) if his/her actions, comments, or language violate the trust of the teachers in such a way that the activities/functions of the school trip cannot be carried out safely or effectively. This decision is at the sole discretion of the school.