How STUCO Makes School Trips Happen by Inaaya Muktadir

When a student thinks of school trips, it’s likely that their mind jumps to the idea of no classes–I know mine does. But school trips are more than just a break from classrooms. They foster many benefits, such as helping to build academic and social skills, boosting confidence, reducing stress, teaching adaptability, and may even help students find new interests. For this article, I spoke with 11th grade representative, Elene Dvali, about what Student Council is working on this year regarding school trips.

I first asked her, “What are STUCO’s main goals when it comes to planning school trips for this year?” She told me that STUCO wants to “plan as many quality trips as possible” that students would be interested in, enjoy, and that are feasible.

After this, I asked her “How does STUCO come up with ideas for school trips? What factors are considered and what are the qualifications to get a trip approved?” Elene explained that the first thing considered is the “why” of the trip. “For example, it could literally just be to have fun and get the students out of the building, or to have them bond, build a sense of community, and even maybe have something fun for the SEL Day.”  She mentioned that some trips could be based around certain holidays or seasons.

As for getting a trip approved, Elene said that there needs to be an “almost fully fledged out plan.” This includes how many students can be accommodated, the location, the approximate price, how the students will travel there and get back, how long the trip will be, how likely is it that students are going to go and be interested, what kind of permissions are needed, and how to distribute waivers to the students if they need to be signed. Once all these things are figured out, checked off, and approved, Elene said “the trip is going to happen and hopefully everybody has fun.”

Finally, I asked her “Are there any upcoming trips students should be looking forward to?” She said “As for upcoming trips, there’s nothing specific students should be looking forward to yet, only because we’re still workshopping ideas and working through logistics, but hopefully once all that is done, we’ll be having some trips for students to look forward to.” Elene emphasized that these trips are primarily for students to enjoy. She also said not to hesitate to approach any STUCO member and be sure to let them know if you have any ideas!