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Field Trips

Four students are gathered around a table in a classroom, with a window and greenery visible in the background.

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.

Several illuminated tents are pitched on a grassy field in the foreground, with a dimly lit building and dark, tree-covered hills forming the background under a cloudy night sky.

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.

Three young people stand in a grassy field with a dramatic orange sunset illuminating the rocky mountains and pine trees behind them.
A group of children sit around a crackling campfire in the foreground, while others stand on a wooden platform in the background, surrounded by trees.
A group of young people gather around a large, reflective circular surface in the foreground, which mirrors a scene of a rocky coastline with stairs in the background.
Three children wade through shallow water in a valley with towering granite cliffs and trees under a cloudy sky.
A group of people are silhouetted around a campfire in the foreground, with a dark forest and a twilight sky in the background.
Three girls walk on stilts in the foreground, with trees and a bright sun in the background.
A group of people walk through a sandy cave towards a bright opening in the background.
A person is suspended from a rope swing in the foreground, while a group of people watch from below against a backdrop of trees and a clear blue sky.
A group of teenagers poses on a vibrant, mosaic-tiled staircase with tall trees and a clear blue sky in the background.
A group of friends relaxes on a rocky mountain peak under a cloudy sky, with a distant valley visible below.
A young person with a sparkly backpack reaches out to a mirrored exhibit that reflects an upside-down view of the museum's interior.
Four young women stand in a grassy meadow with tall trees and the iconic Half Dome rock formation in Yosemite National Park behind them.
Four people relax on bright red, futuristic chairs on a wooden deck, with a modern building and a large, abstract sculpture in the background.
Three smiling young men stand in a grassy meadow with pine trees to their left, while Half Dome glows in the warm light of sunset behind them.
A group of eight young people stand on a wooden bridge in the foreground, with a waterfall and a large granite cliff in the background.
A smiling boy in the foreground holds a colorful kite, while a line of children with signs and flags stretches into the background under a clear blue sky.
A group of young people in ponchos and jackets stand on a dirt path in the foreground, with a majestic waterfall cascading down a rocky cliff face and lush green trees in the background.
Two people squat on a brick sidewalk admiring a vibrant mural of the Earth and a bus, with lush green trees framing the colorful artwork.
A museum educator gestures towards an art display case filled with brushes and art supplies, while a group of students in the foreground watches attentively, with artwork visible on the gallery walls in the background.
Four young people raise bottles of hot sauce at a table laden with food in a brightly decorated restaurant.
Two smiling young people in the foreground give thumbs up while pushing a wheelbarrow, with a person in the background working near trees and a building.
A group of children stand in a circle on a sandy beach, with the ocean and a distant coastline under a clear blue sky in the background.
People admire colorful art installations and paintings in a well-lit gallery with a polished wooden floor.