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TRAILSIDE MIDDLE SCHOOL
20325 Claiborne Parkway
Ashburn, VA 20147
(571) 252-2280 (Tel)
Trailside Middle School 8th grade Field Trip
April 27, 2015 8:35 am – 3:30 pm
March 18, 2015
Dear Parents/Guardians:
The Eighth Grade at Trailside Middle School will be taking a field trip to Washington, DC on Monday, April 27, 2015.
The functions of this trip are to make connections between their interests and their academic environment.
Students will be able to visit several destinations from the list below:
Newseum
National Air and Space Museum
Museum of American History US Capitol Building
Museum of Natural History
US Botanic Gardens
US National Archives
Students will spend the morning portion of the trip touring the DC locations they have chosen to visit. At 12:45, all
of the groups will walk from their destination to the National Mall and gather in the grassy area between 4th and
7th St NW. Students will eat their brown bag lunch and have time to relax and mingle with other groups. Students
will board the busses by the Monument and return to school by 2:00pm.
Departure and Return
Students should report to school as usual, so attendance can be taken. Students will be called down to meet
chaperones and board busses. Following the field trip, the whole group will re-board busses and leave Washington
DC by 2:00 pm. Arrival back at Trailside is estimated to be 3:00. At that time, students will be working in the
auditorium to complete a reflective activity related to the day’s activities.
Cost
The cost per student is $5. This covers transportation. Cash and checks will be accepted. Checks may be made out
to Trailside Middle School. In the memo portion of the check, please print your child’s name. Payment and
permission slips should be submitted together to the house office. Please ensure that any cash payments are
inside of an envelope labeled with your child’s name. Thank you.
Chaperones
Chaperones are welcome! We will need approximately 70 chaperones to accompany us on this trip. Chaperones
will be assigned to about 6-8 students in a group. Chaperones will be responsible to ride the bus, accompany one
group of students to the selected destinations, supervise the walk to the National Mall, and supervise students at
lunch. . Chaperone responsibilities will be discussed in further detail at a mandatory chaperone meeting on April
22nd at either 7:30am or 7pm. If you are interested and available to chaperone our trip, please indicate by
responding to the online survey at: http://bit.ly/1ESB57Q, or by clicking the link on the Trailside webpage. Please
respond online by March 27th. Please note – chaperones will not be able to take small children along on this trip.
Thank you, we look forward to seeing you there!
Bus Behavior
All students in attendance for the trip are expected to ride the Loudoun County Public Schools bus assigned to
his/her group and follow the code of conduct established by the teachers and drivers. There will be several vacant
seats in the front of the bus for those students who demonstrate the need to be moved. There will be no singing on
the bus.
TRAILSIDE MIDDLE SCHOOL
20325 Claiborne Parkway
Ashburn, VA 20147
(571) 252-2280 (Tel)
Electronics
IPODs, MP3 players, and hand held game systems may be taken on the bus at the student’s own risk. Headphones
must be worn when using the electronics on the bus at all times, however students must be able to hear directions
given by the bus driver and/or teacher. Students will be encouraged to use their electronic devices to access social
media as a tool to discuss their experience and learning. Information and expectations regarding this assignment
will be shared with the students closer to the date of the field trip.
Lunch
Students are to bring a disposable and nutritious bag lunch. Drinks must be non-carbonated and must be in a nonglass container. Including hand wipes is encouraged. Please consider excluding all nut and nut related products
from your lunch as we have students with nut allergies. Thank you. Lunches must be carried by students
throughout the day.
You do have the option of pre-ordering a lunch from the school cafeteria. The meal choices are Sunbutter and Jelly
Sandwich or Cheese Sandwich with an 8 oz Milk Carton and two of the following sides: Carrot Sticks or Baby
Carrots, Celery Sticks or Apple Slices. Lunch ordered from the cafeteria will picked up the morning of the trip. Order
form is attached. The order form is due with permission slips on March 27, 2015.
Money
Students will be responsible for any money he/she brings. The recommended amount is no more than $20.00 cash.
Money should be kept securely with your child. The different sites may have gift shop, bookstore, and snack area.
Please discuss your guidelines with your child. Please note: Some museum may have war replicas, including
weapons. Students will not be able to purchase any guns, swords, bullets, or the like. This is consistent with
Loudoun County Public Schools policy on weapons.
Dress
The weather in April is unpredictable. Students are encouraged to wear layered clothing and comfortable shoes
suitable for walking. In the event of rain, the field trip will still go on- students may wear rain jackets or carry
umbrellas. Students may bring a small cinch backpack, but no full backpacks as they are not permitted in the
museums. Cinch backpacks will be helpful to tote lunch all day.
Permission slip
The permission slip is included with this letter. Please complete it fully and have your student turn it in to the house
secretary with $5 cash in an envelope or check with their name printed in the memo . The contact information and
health care information are especially important. Any forms not completed will be returned for completion.
Please note: Due to the large size of the group, a final count of participants will be made on Friday, March 27,
2015. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but to ensure a safe and well managed trip, we will
require all permission slips and chaperones to be accounted for by that time.
Thank you for your support. We are looking to a wonderful day in Washington, D.C.!
Sincerely,
Field Trip Organizers
Denise Soukup
Damon Laabs
Science Teacher
English Teacher
Lauren Mezzino
8th Grade Dean
Judith Slowey-Brown
8th Grade School Counselor