About the Trip
Plans are being made for the Class of 2015 to go on the Freshman Orientation Adventure, a four-day camping trip to Northern Georgia, August 24 - 27. The students will be the 19th class to experience this exciting adventure, which is a strong testimony to the educational, emotional and spiritual benefits of the trip. Graduating seniors have consistently named this trip one of their top memories of their years at Episcopal. The trip has been designed not only to meet specific English, history, math, art and science objectives, but also to create a sense of community within the class. The class bonding, the formation of new friendships, the peacefulness of the forest and the excitement of the whitewater rafting make the trip an incredible experience.
Students will camp on platform tents or in tents at Unicoi State Park in Helen, attend outdoor field and stream activities at Smithgall Woods Environmental Center, hike the Smith Creek Trail and raft the Chattooga River. It is our expectation that all ninth graders will attend the trip, which is scheduled Wednesday - Saturday, August 24 - 27, 2011. Teachers, 45 upper schoolers and adult volunteers will accompany the students on each trip to coordinate activities and to provide supervision at all times. A classroom will be available for activities in case of poor weather conditions, and there are modern bathrooms for our personal use. Experienced cooks will prepare the meals at the campground. We plan to make two stops at fast food restaurants, and we have arranged to have one dinner in a fine restaurant.
On Friday, August 19th all freshmen and trip counselors will meet on the
flag plaza at 12:30 p.m. to make final preparations for
the trip. They will listen to presentations made by faculty members,
discuss trip guidelines, review the packing list and attend a chapel
service. Students should wear a tee-shirt, shorts, socks and hiking
boots and bring a filled water bottle. The students will be dismissed at
3:15 p.m.
All relevant information has been compiled into one downloadable packet for your convenience.
The cost of the trip is $365, which includes transportation, campsite, all meals and whitewater rafting. The total payment is due by June 1, and checks may be made payable to Episcopal. You can either have your child bring it to me in the Science Research Lab before the end of the school year, or mail it to the school to my attention. Do not send it directly to the business office. Funds will be internally transferred for students whose parents are paying for the trip on a monthly payment schedule. In the event that a student must cancel plans to attend, a 50% refund will be available up to three weeks before departure. After that time, the amount of refund, approximately $75, will be based on the cash expenditures that would have been incurred for the student while on the trip. Students will be strongly discouraged from bringing money on the trip, since there will be no opportunities to make purchases.
If you have a concern of a personal nature, or if the cost poses a hardship for your family, please call (904.396.5751, ext 1412)or email me at the School. We are eager for all freshmen to participate in this exciting and educational class trip!
Sincerely,
Marion Zeiner
For a successful Freshmen Orientation Adventure students should:
- Get plenty of sleep and be well-hydrated before the trip
- Follow the packing list carefully
- Break-in their hiking boots before the trip
- Arrive on campus at 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday, August 24th
I am so glad that I was able to stay with such great girls throughout the trip! I would have never made it through without them. They lifted my spirits and kept me going. We all bonded and ended up sleeping a lot closer to each other than we ever thought we would, because we were so cold during the night. Our counselor led us in devotions. It was so much fun. I really admired what she said about the Lord and how he will be there for us whenever we need him. She also told us she will always be there for us whenever we need her!"
ninth-grade student
In the end, the freshmen trip was the experience of a lifetime, which I will never forget. I met new friends and became even closer to my good friends. I learned that I could deal with sleeping with bugs all around me and not being able to have access to a hair dryer. I got to experience many things which some people will never be able to do, like whitewater rafting, or going on a five-mile hike. I am so glad that God was able to give me this chance of a lifetime, which will stay with me for years to come."
ninth-grade student