GUS students participate in an exciting array of experiential learning trips from the time they enter kindergarten to the time they graduate from eighth grade.
These trips are embedded in the fabric of the school; we believe that students need to explore the world around them in order to experience the places and events that they first learn about in their classrooms. First graders, for example, travel to the Butterfly Place after they observe and record the life cycle of a Monarch butterfly. Third graders tour the North End in Boston and visit the State House as an extension of their study of cities and city governments. Sixth graders tour Dogtown Common in Gloucester to study Native American rituals and stone structures as part of their study of prehistoric people. Eighth grade field trips include a day trip to a lab at MIT, a day Freedom Trail walk, and a four day academically-focused trip to New York City that enhances their study of immigration.
By the end of eighth grade, students have had ample opportunity to experience the richness and diversity of New England, as well as to experience first-hand the topics of the classroom. The abstract is made real, and the memories of these trips last a lifetime.
