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Click Here for a Packing List for the Florida Trip
Florida is a unique educational ground for wildlife biology, ecology, restoration ecology, and ecosystem management. On a WorldStrides program in Florida, your child experiences science outside of the classroom like he or she never has before. Splash into Science brings students to the most educational and exciting destinations Florida has to offer – the Everglades and the Florida Keys.
Everglades National Park: Students experience North America’s only tropical preserve both during the night and the day. Students have the chance to experience the beauty of Florida wildlife in its natural habitat while learning about the significance of this one-of-a-kind ecosystem.
Florida Keys: Students learn about coral reef biodiversity, geochemical properties of sea water, and the concepts of plate tectonics and carbon dating as they snorkel in the world's third largest coral reef. There will be two opportunities to come face-to-face with the brilliantly colored tropical fish and coral of a spectacular offshore reef.
Turtle Hospital: Students go behind the scenes at this world-class sea turtle hospital to examine x-rays, learn about conservation efforts, and feed rescued sea turtles.
Dolphin Research Center: Students have the rare opportunity to get in the water with one of the most intelligent mammals– the dolphin – in its natural environment.
As is always the
case for me, safety is the number one priority, followed by fun and learning. To
that end, we travel with Worldstrides, a company I have worked with for over ten years, and which has exceeded my high expectations for safety, quality
educational experiences, and value. Worldstrides has been around for over 50
years, and is one of the largest student travel companies in the world, with
over 200,000 students a year traveling to one of their many destinations. You
can find out more about the company at:
http://www.worldstrides.org/mission/default.asp
We travel with a ratio of one teacher chaperone for every 12 students, and we
also have naturalist/guides provided by the travel company, so we are able to
keep a close eye on all of our travelers at all times. We are with them 24/7, so they are
constantly supervised. Whenever we are doing an activity, we have several
representatives from the company with us in addition to our chaperones. In the
case of snorkeling, for example, we have several dive masters with us at all
times. When we're kayaking, we are divided into small groups that contain
students and chaperones, and each group is led by an experienced kayaking guide.
At night, we have security guards posted in the hallways of the hotels from 10
pm to 5:30 am to ensure the safety of the students. We have lights out and a bed
check every night at an appropriate time (depending on when we need to be up the
next morning), usually between 9:00 and 10:00 pm.
Over the years, I've taken well over 1000 students with me on various adventures (I
also do a trip to Costa Rica with 7th graders, a trip to Vietnam for all grades
(coming up Spring Break 2020), and have
led student trips to the Galapagos (there's a summer 2020 Galapagos trip coming
up!), Japan, China, and Cuba as well), and I know what a wonderful
experience it can be for them. I also have three little ones of my own, all of
whom have been on the Florida trip, so I
know how important the issue of safety is for you, and I take it very seriously.
In Florida, the students get a chance to get hands-on experiences with wildlife
biology, ecology, restoration ecology, and ecosystem management, and get up
close and personal with dolphins, sea turtles, and coral reef inhabitants. It is
truly a fantastic trip!
The trip is scheduled for Monday, June 14th to Friday, June 18th, 2021 (five days, four nights).
The Florida trip is open to ALL RIS students in grade 6 AND ALL students in grade 7 in the 2020-2021 school year (due to the postponement of the 2020 Florida trip until 2021 because of Covid), AND ALL RIS students in grade. Friends from other schools are welcome to join the trip. Because we typically reach maximum capacity with student registrations, we cannot accept parent registrations for this trip. Parents are welcome to come along on the 7th Grade Costa Rica Trip in June 2021 and/or the multi-grade Galapagos Islands Trip in July 2021 (See the main page for info on these trips: www.doctoroschman.com)
The cost of the Florida trip for 2021 is virtually unchanged from 2019. You can find the exact price breakdown on the registration site (see below). The price includes all airfare, transportation, hotels, meals, entrance fees, and activities (swimming with dolphins, kayaking, snorkeling trips, Everglades airboat ride, turtle hospital, etc., etc., etc.). The only money your child would need to bring is for souvenirs!
There are three easy ways to register your child for the trip:
1. Online: go to http://www.worldstrides.org Enter Trip ID# 179999 (Fastest & Easiest Way to Register!)
2. By Phone: Call Worldstrides at 800-468-5899
3. By Mail: Fill out and mail in your registration form (which you can get from Mr. Oschman)
When registering, be sure to reference TRIP ID#: 179999
We travel with Worldstrides, a company I have worked with for over 10 years, and which has exceeded my high expectations for safety, quality and value. Worldstrides has been around for over 50 years, and is one of the largest student travel companies in the world, with over 200,000 students a year traveling to one of their many destinations. Learn more about the company at: http://www.worldstrides.org/mission/default.asp
More Information: Check out:
http://www.worldstrides.org/