Field trips and activities for all grades are designed to meet learning objectives and relate directly to material covered in the classroom. Day trips lead up to extensive end-of-year trips for grades 5-8. Every grade bolsters their day-to-day discoveries with university visits that make college dreams reality.
Scholars experience learning beyond the borders of the campus. 5th grade students learn about the industries and environments of Wisconsin, 6th grade students discover the Midwestern Badlands through portions of the Lewis and Clark trail, 7th graders take in a new culture and climate as they learn of the Southwest’s native peoples in Arizona and study the Grand Canyon, and 8th graders experience the greatness of the past in a southeastern Civil Rights trip, witnessing the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other great Americans.
Students commit to these journeys and earn a place as a traveller by demonstrating strong character and responsibility in and out of the classroom. Once accepted on the trip, they spread the love of Jesus, embrace opportunities to experience history and nature, tour colleges, challenge themselves physically and mentally, and return from their travels with a renewed sense of self and purpose. The Discover America experience instills in students a cultural awareness and spiritual urgency beyond the reach of classroom learning, both of which motivate students to see learning and service as lifelong endeavors.
In order to develop a sense of ownership and investment in the trips, 5th and 6th grade students fundraise $275, and 7th and 8th graders raise nearly $350 for the longer, more extensive trips.
The amount individual students fundraise only covers a small portion of the cost of the trips. To cover the remainder of the cost, students seek out friends who would be willing to contribute towards the remaining cost. Students write letters requesting support.
Support levels include:
Simply put, donors make it possible for St. Marcus students to receive the incredible benefits – educational, social, emotional, and spiritual – that come from traveling around this great nation. The Discover America Program would not be possible without the generous support of these individuals.
You will receive a letter from a student. Donors receive postcards from the student during the trip. Donors who support the trips through the letter writing campaign are supporting individual students by helping to cover the overall costs of a trip. These funds do not go into individual student accounts or count towards individual student fundraising. In this way, a student who receives a large gift from a donor (over $1,000 for example) benefits as much as a student who receives a smaller gift.
