Even from the earliest age The British International School of New York encourages trips outside of the school throughout the school year.
These trips are be designed to hone life skills, such as how to safely travel as a group when outside of the school buildings, and to reinforce areas of learning, skill and exploration. The added enthusiasm that a visit to a relevant place can bring to a topic is immeasurable as well as building new memories, friendships and experiences that will stay with our children beyond their school days.
It is usual that trips will be designed to reinforce areas of the curriculum, bringing topics and concepts to life. Examples of this in the Early Years include exploratory visits to Central Park, a visit to an Opticians, and even a trip to the Museum of Mathematics. As students progress through the school, the scope of the trips offered expands to cover all areas of the curriculum and beyond. Examples included Year 4 heading to Ellis Island, trips to the MET, the Hayden Planetarium and the residential trips to the Florida Keys and Washington D.C. and Arizona in the Middle Years.
A key element of an I.B. education is the opportunity for learning outside of the classroom walls, be that in the all-class residential Camp Mason trip before the onset of the MYP, or trips further afield. The focus on these trips is always on extending learning and increasing life experiences for our students in ways that consolidate learning, promotes independence and deepens social bonds.
Other highlights of our trips program include the annual Excursion Week in which students in the MYP visit key destinations that tie closely to their areas of study; most recently these have been Washington DC (Y7), Colorado River Area (Y8) and the Florida Keys (Y9)
In June each year, Year 10 students go on an excursion trip which links very closely with the curriculum in their humanities lessons. For those taking Geography, the trip is compulsory and ensures students are able to undertake the field work that is required of them by their course. For those taking History, the trip provides the opportunity to interact closely with much of the content they will explore during their study of WWII, and students will explore sights of key significance during that time.