SFCA Elementary School Annual Trip Opportunities
1st grade: Florida Repertory Theatre
Students will attend a live performance at the Florida Repertory Theatre. Before the trip, classes will complete portions of a study guide which includes: Seasons, Compare/Contrast, Sequence of events, Letter-writing and Retelling. After the show, students will have the opportunity to participate in an interactive workshop with the actors.
1st grade: Ostego Bay Marine Science Center
Students will explore and discover the natural beauty of Southwest Florida by visiting The Ostego Bay Marine Science Center on Fort Myers Beach. The Center provides a Marine Science Experience through interactive exhibits, aquariums, touch tank, and one of kind collections and unique displays. While there, an instructor will lead a guided tour around the museum, after which the students will work together on a scavenger hunt. Students will observe marine life that exist right here on our coast and watch a short video about our local marine life. They will also have the opportunity to handle some live creatures and fossils in the facility. They will use lenses to view tiny organisms in the water. As an exciting end to the trip, students will eat in the restaurant at the center, overlooking the water.
2nd Grade: Cypress Slough
Students in 2nd grade will visit the Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve. Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve is a critical wetland system having positive value in inspiring and educating students about wetlands and their roles in preserving the environment and local quality of life. This is an organization committed to preserving, protecting and promoting Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve for future generations. This trip enhances the students’ study of living things, specifically vertebrates and invertebrates.
2nd Grade: Broadway Palm Dinner Theater and Christmas Show
Students will attend a live performance at the Florida Repertory Theatre. Before the trip, classes will complete portions of a study guide which includes: Seasons, Compare/Contrast, Sequence of events, Letter-writing and Retelling. After the show, students will have the opportunity to participate in an interactive workshop with the actors.
2nd Grade: Lowry Park Zoo
The Lowry Park Zoo is an environmental learning center, in Tampa, Florida, that provides an exciting and interactive location in which all students can make observations, draw conclusions, and nurture their genuine interest in the natural world around them. Our students make a day trip of this event, leaving early in the morning, exploring the zoo and returning in the early evening.
3rd Grade: Broadway Palm Dinner Theater
This year our 3rd grade students will attend a production at the Broadway Palm Dinner Theater. In conjunction with their study of major story elements, ie: plot, character, setting and story summarization, the students will read the book, see the play and then discuss the story elements in class.
3rd Grade: The Thomas Edison & Henry Ford Winter Estates
Students will visit the Edison & Ford Winter Estates and learn first-hand how the ingenuity and hard work of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford changed American business and industry and how their very presence changed the city of Fort Myers. This visit will enhance their study of inventors and their inventions and culminates with a wax museum of famous people.
3rd Grade: Legoland
Our students visit Legoland as part of the STEM program. Science material such as levers and pulleys and machines are discussed and learned about before their visit. Their visit includes fun LEGO® building with LEGOLAND® Staff! This includes Standards-based curriculum specifically for the 3rd grade. There is applied learning on life-sized machines – Rides! Before they attend the trip and after they return there are worksheets and discussion to enhance what they have learned while at Legoland.
4th Grade: St Augustine, Florida
Our 4th graders spend 9-12 weeks studying the history of Florida. Included in their study is the founding of our nation’s oldest city, St. Augustine. They also learn about the importance of St. Augustine to the Spanish and how the building of the Castillo de San Marcos caused St. Augustine to never be taken in a battle. During this exciting, three day field trip to St. Augustine, students are able to tour the Castillo de San Marcos and learn about how it was used during times of attack. They also visit the Old Florida Museum and experience what life was like for the Native Americans, Spanish and early pioneer families in Florida. At the Spanish Military Hospital they are able to learn about the medical practices of the Spanish in Florida.
5th Grade: Disney YES Program (2 sessions)
Energy and Waves Physics Lab
Our 5th grade students embark on an interactive adventure where they explore the physics of light and sound various attractions at the Magic Kingdom Park, and examine the wide range of the electromagnetic spectrum. Students discover how energy is transmitted by light and sound waves, and how these waves affect the Disney Guest experience and their day-to-day lives. They also ascertain how light and sound can be manipulated.
Discovering Marine Life Conservation
5th grade students will once again gain knowledge of the Sciences by exploring diverse marine environments with educators from The Seas with Nemo and Friends and learn about marine conservation and what they can do to protest ocean life. Students play and interactive role as marine conservationists to learn about the difficulties facing aquatic animals in the wild and ways they can help them. During this 3-hour program students practice their observational skills to identify a variety of fish species, as well as predators and prey. They also team up to brainstorm creative solutions for protecting our oceans and marine life.