Want an Awesome Senior Class Trip – Check Out These Tips!

Diana Eastman

A senior class trip is in many ways, a right of passage. It is the last big “hoorah” before they walk across the stage in their cap and gown and start a new chapter of their lives. A senior class trip is something high schoolers look forward to from their first day of freshman year and is an experience that most of them will remember for the rest of their lives.

Depending on the size of your senior class and the rules and guidelines set out by your school in regards to student travel, there are many incredible places to host a senior trip that they’ll never forget. Some rural high schools like to give their seniors the experience of a big city like New York or Chicago, while others take their seniors to the beach, to an amusement park or to see a natural wonder like Niagara Falls. Wherever you decide to take your almost-graduates, keep these three tips in mind to ensure students, teachers, and chaperones have a safe, fun and memorable trip.

Pick A Place
Deciding on a final destination for your class trip can seem daunting, as getting a bunch of young adults to agree on anything can pose a challenge. Some magnet schools that specialize in certain programs like theater, dance, or science pick a senior trip location that falls in line with their specialty, such as the New York City Dance program. Finances play a big role in where you go as well. If you live close to a major city or attraction and students can drive themselves, you save on airfare or public transportation. If you live in a more secluded spot where plane rides or a tour bus would be more appropriate, you’ll just have to factor that into the budget. Get students involved by using a survey to narrow down the most popular choices for the student body, and then make an executive decision from there. Allowing the seniors to be part of the planning will give them ownership of their experiences.

Money, Money, Money
Most seniors are spending their afternoons, evening or weekends working retail, serving, babysitting, delivering pizzas or bagging groceries at a grocery store to make a little extra money. Then they spend it on coffee, fast food, movie tickets, new clothes, and gas. This combination leaves little room for seniors to save up hundreds of dollars to pay for an expensive class trip. Some students are lucky enough to have help from their parents, while others are not. Your goal should be to plan a trip that every student can go on, regardless of his or her family’s financial situation.

Get Creative With Fundraising
When it comes to raising money for the most epic class trip ever, chances are your student body will need some help. This is another way to get the students involved in the trip planning and allow them to take ownership and responsibility for the experiences. High schoolers are passed the age where they have any interest in selling chocolate or candles or wrapping paper to raise money. And you won’t catch them jumping rope or running laps either. Think about things your students will get excited about and use that to fuel the fundraising. Check out some of these fun and creative ways other high schools have gotten their students excited about raising money:

Duct tape a teacher to the wall- Each student pays $1 for a piece of duct tape, and a beloved (or not) teacher stands on a chair up against a wall, and each student applies duct tape to the teacher and the wall until the chair can be pulled away and the teacher is literally stuck to the wall

Pie in the face- Set a monetary goal and have the prize be that a lucky teacher (or principal!) gets a pie to the face

Have a yard sale- Organize a Saturday morning garage sale where students donate items to be sold and all of the proceeds go to funding for the trip

Get cookin’!- A good ol’ fashioned bake sale is another great way to earn money. Create a team of students to bake cookies or brownies, and give students an opportunity to sell them during lunch, between classes, and before or after school

Rub a dub dub- Get the seniors together for a Saturday morning car wash!

A senior trip is an experience that young adults will remember for a lifetime, and with some careful planning, a little research and an open mind, you could go down in history as hosting the most epic senior class trip. Ever.