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Field Trips

Field trips in all Lower and Middle School subjects are an integrated part of the curricula, with teachers and students taking advantage of the enormous resources available in the Bay Area. These trips allow for meaningful hands-on opportunities and provide context and relevance for what is being learned in the classroom.

Whole-grade excursions include overnight trips for third through eighth grade and include camping at Angel Island, outdoor education programs at the Clem Miller Environmental Education Center in Point Reyes National Seashore, and a three-day hiking trip to Yosemite National Park, to name a few.

Closer to "home," Presidio Hill School has a close relationship with the Presidio National Park and many classes take place in this special location. Classroom enhancements include watershed tours, beach excursions, geology walks, and the opportunity to conduct citizen monitoring. For instance, seventh grade has, for the last 16 years, monitored turtles and amphibians at Mountain Lake Park as it has been restored under the leadership of the Presidio Trust. Students do service learning and help in the restoration process. Students visit and work in the Native Plant Garden where they learn to identify local flora and assist in planting seeds, transplanting seedlings, and turning compost. The entire school helps to maintain the park in age-appropriate ways.

Other field trips include visits to professional theaters, local art museums, the Exploratorium, California Academy of Sciences, Chabot Planetarium, Lawrence Hall of Science, film openings, farming facilities, and other places in the Bay Area. Service learning takes students to senior centers, local parks and beaches for clean-ups, and to soup kitchens and other local social services to help serve food and make other meaningful contributions.