Trips
Prairie Crossing Charter School offers a number of overnight field trips in the 5th-8th grades. These trips are a significant component of our environmental education focus. They allow our older students to spend time immersed in the natural world, learning about caring for the environment and for their own physical, emotional, and social wellness.
Click here for the Chaperone Camping Consent and Release Form
Click here for the Chaperone Contract for PCCS Camping Trips
Click here for the Chaperone Forms for PCCS Camping Trips
5th and 6th Grade Spring Camping Trips Our 5th-6th grade trips feature an immersion experience in a new natural area, alternating between the ravines of Starved Rock and the lakefront and sand dunes at Warren Dunes. This allows Prairie Crossing Charter School students to learn about the geology, flora, fauna, and history of different ecosystems. Our students also learn environmentally friendly recreation skills and the importance of teamwork. Click here for the 5th/6th Grade Camping Trip Goals Click here for the 5th/6th Grade Packing List |
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7th Grade Spring Camping Trip PrairieCrossing Charter Schoolstudents spend their nights at a group campsite in tents and cook all of their foods over a fire, learning self-sufficiency and personal empowerment. They also participate in hikes around the lake, learn about the area's geology, and visit the International Crane Foundation and Aldo Leopold's "shack" and Foundation. Prior to departing for this trip, the 7th graders read a book about Sandhill cranes and sections of A Sand County Almanac, written by Aldo Leopold. The trip then ties perfectly into their educational curriculum. Click here for the 7th Grade Trip Goals Click here for the 7th Grade Camp Packing List |  | ||||
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8th Grade Spring Trip This trip spans historic Civil War battlefields, monuments, and other sites and exposes Prairie Crossing Charter School students firsthand to the unique history of that time period in America. Of course, this trip has an environmental twist! Our students conduct an in-depth study of the ecology of every battlefield, learning about how the unique environmental aspects of that site influenced the battles that took place there. They also performed energy and source consumption/reduction audits at every hotel at which they stayed, assessing how we can all do better at reducing our waste. |  |
