Is there a field trip you took in elementary school that was one you will never forget? That is exactly what I am trying to give my 5th grade students. We are lucky enough to have gotten a date for just this type of trip. However, a few of the students cannot afford to pay for this opportunity.
At my school in the upstate of South Carolina, we have almost 500 students.
Nearly 90% of our students qualify for free or reduced lunch. Although our students do not have much money, they usually do have good support from home. Many come from single family homes where the only parent works one or two jobs. Many of the students in the upper grades are responsible for caring for younger brothers and sisters at home while the parents are working.
My Project
What I am asking for is an opportunity for some of my least advantaged students to be able to attend a life-changing field trip. If you help, they will be able to travel to a barrier island here in South Carolina for 3 days and 2 nights. For many of the students it will be their first time away from home over night. For many of them it will be the first time they have seen the ocean. For many of them it will be the only chance they might ever have to stay in a camp setting. For almost all of them, it will be their first chance to roast marshmallows over a camp fire or actually hold a lizard or snake.
In addition to all of these first time experiences, the students will also be able to see first hand what we have been learning about in the classroom. What better way to understand an ecosystem than to actually walk around in one? What better way to understand the human effect on the environment than to see it first hand?
Helping my students attend this field trip will potentially affect them in many ways.
It might convince some of them to try and attend college so they can have careers in the field of environmental education. It might show them different areas of the world and convince them to work hard to get out of a bad situation in which they live.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Shear and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
