Much like projects and experiential learning in a classroom take students out of textbooks and into self discovery, travel opens student minds to memorable learning. While adventuring, students may be exposed to culture, outlooks, customs, terrain, language, activities and natural wonders that they can discover in ways unlike a classroom allows.
Upper School Field Experiences
Service Week - Each Spring
Upper School students are invited to a variety of national and international trips during Service Week. Opportunities have included:
- Pine Ridge Reservation, home to the Oglala Lakota Nation
- Great Smoky Mountain National Park, TN
- A 23-year exchange program with a school in Châlons-en-Champagne, France
- Costa Rica
- Cuba
- Peru
- New Orleans, LA
- Charleston, SC
- Panthertown Valley, NC
Summer Travel
Summer trips to Europe are frequently offered to our Upper School students. Ninth graders are often included in an international exchange between Shorecrest and Colegios Ramón y Cajal in Madrid, Spain. Summer 2024 will also feature a trip to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand! Kayla Brazee, Upper School Teacher, is planning through EF Educational Tours.
Middle School Field Experiences
Students in Grades 5-8 participate with their teachers in extensions of classroom learning through overnight field experiences. These programs provide real-world opportunities through integrated learning.
A four-day/three-night excursion to our nation’s capital. Eighth grade trips to Washington DC are a rite of passage in many independent schools, and our trip is an important link to our students’ understanding of our country, our culture, and America’s role in the global community. This trip builds beautifully on two years of global studies in Grades 5 and 6 social studies and two years of American experience in Grades 7 and 8. Integrating social studies, English, world languages, art, architecture, math and science, students visit historical sites such as the Capitol, historical monuments on the Mall, and many museums including Smithsonian sites.
A three-day/two-night experiential history and environmental studies opportunity located in and around St. Augustine, FL. Students explore the Castillo de San Marcos, Old Town, Fort Mose, and other historical sites in America's oldest city. Students will also study the North Florida environment and how it related to the development of the area. A major focus second semester in seventh grade is the class project on disease and history, and the field experience provides students the opportunity to explore the impact of disease on the Spanish colonial town.
Pathfinder Outdoor Education is a non-profit organization dedicated to building personal, social and environmental responsibility through the power of shared experience. Their experiential educational programs develop leadership, increase self-confidence, and enhance communication through trust and team building activities. Canoeing, high ropes courses, and outdoor living skills are just a few of the fun, outdoor activities participants can do, working together to gain new skills in problem-solving, resolving conflict, listening, observing, and working effectively in a group.
Group bonding and learning from risk taking on challenging terrain and hundreds of aerial adventure games in the trees.
Middle School Local Field Trips
- Architectural Tour of Downtown St Petersburg
- Shell Midden on Boca Ciega Bay
- The Salvador Dalí Museum
- MOSI
- Publix
- Weedon Island Preserve
- various seagrass planting expeditions
Student Exchange & Hosting Program
The Global Explorers Student Exchange & Hosting Program designs opportunities for Lower and Middle school students and their families to learn while traveling, join annual exchange programs, and host overseas students.
- Middle Schoolers traveled during Spring Break to Cuba for service and Spanish immersion, and visited France for French immersion trips
- Lower School trips have included Mexico, Costa Rica and Spain
- Argentinian students have visted since 2004
- Shorecrest hosted and visited students from Madrid, Spain, as exchange students
Contact: Señora Emili Jaime-Allwood, Global Explorers Chair and Lower School Spanish Teacher
Lower School local Field Trips
- American Stage Theatre
- Animal Hospital
- Animal House Pet Shop
- Architectural Tour of Downtown St Petersburg
- Boyd Hill Pioneer Settlement Garden
- Crisp Park
- Fire Station
- Florida Aquarium
- Lowry Park Zoo
- The Museum of Fine Arts
- Pinellas County Waste Management & Landfill
- Publix
- Pumpkin Patch
- Sawgrass Lake Park
- SPCA
- St. Pete Museum of History
- Tampa Bay History Center
- Weedon Island Preserve
Experiential School local Field Trips
Albert Whitted Airport- Bob Lee's Tire Company
- Crisp Park
- Farm
- Fire Station
- Museum of Fine Arts
- Pioneer Gardens
- Publix
- Pumpkin Patch
- Small Batch Creamery
- Spa Beach
- Woodie's Wash Shack