Class Trip 2021

Founding Fathers East Coast Trip

The 8th grade Class of 2021 is invited to take a 7-day 6-night trip with the Palms Middle School History Department for the Founding Fathers East Coast Tour during the week of Spring Recess in the Spring 2021 semester.

The tour is run by the Explorica educational travel service, with Palms teachers as chaperones. There is at least one adult for each 8 students.

The trip is for students and teachers only, not for parents, not even as chaperones.

Trip dates

Discounted early registration:
April and May 2020

Registration deadline:
October 1, 2020
or when we reach trip capacity

Departing: Friday, March 26, 2021

Returning: Thursday, April 1, 2021

Sign up at

Explorica.com/Nicholson-1336

Capacity

There is a practical limit to the number of students that can be taken on the trip and space fills up quickly. Once the initial cap is reached, a waiting list will be available. If enough students sign up for the waiting list, we can reopen registration and take additional students.

Capacity: 79 students

Sign-ups as of September 1, 2020: 72 students

Eligibility

Eligibility is based on the rules for Eighth Grade Eligibility as of the Fall semester 20-week report card.

The Travel Protection Plan Plus travel insurance plan will cover students who are unable to take the trip because they do not meet these eligibility requirements. The standard Travel Protection Plan does not cover this possibility.

Cost

The cost for the 2020 trip is $2,640 per student.

A $50 discount is available ($2,590) if you sign up before April 29, 2020. Click or tap I have a voucher code on the Payment page and enter code Palms50.

The price covers:

round-trip transportation
6 overnight stays in hotels
lodging, 3 or 4 students to a room (or just 1 other student for $45 extra/night)
tours and tourguides
security
meals and meal expenses
tips
trip diary on the Explorica website (also on the Palms website)

The price does not include:

travel insurance (see below)
souvenirs
airline baggage fees

Payment Plans

Four payment plans are offered with no extra fees:

Pay in full.
Pay $50 deposit and the rest in 5 monthly credit or debit card charges.
Pay $50 deposit and the rest in 5 monthly checking account payments.
Pay $99 deposit, $300 in 30 days, and the balance in December 2020.

See below for optional choice of travel protection plan, at extra cost.

Scholarships

Friends of Palms offered 3 scholarships to help qualifying students take the trip.

Travel Insurance

Optional travel insurance, payable with your initial deposit, provides protection against trip cancellation.

If Explorica cancels the trip because of the pandemic, then all families receive a full refund, minus a $99 fee, whether or not they bought a travel protection plan.

Travel Protection Plan: $84

Covers injury, sickness, death of a family member, bad-weather flight cancelations, lost luggage, and a few other conditions.

Travel Protection Plan Plus: $126

Also covers cancelation for any reason, with a partial refund, 30 days or more before the trip.

See travel plan details at the Explorica website.

Students Will Visit...

Boston:

Freedom Trail tour: Old North Church, Paul Revere's house, Old Granary burial ground, Boston Common, King's Chapel, Old State House, Faneuil Hall
USS Constitution "Old Ironside"
Harvard Square walking tour
Fenway Park tour

New York:

Metropolitan Museum of Art
Midtown tour: Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Times Square, Grand Central Station
Ellis Island
Statue of Liberty
Lower Manhattan tour: Trinity Church, Wall Street, Chinatown, Little Italy, 9/11 Memorial
One World Observation at One World Trade Center

Philadelphia:

Independence Hall
Liberty Bell center
Ben Franklin's grave
Elfreth's Alley
Friendship Meeting House

Washington DC:

Mount Vernon
National Archives
Memorials: World War II, Lincoln, Vietnam Veterans, Korean War
National Mall
Tidal Basin
Washington Monument
White House
U.S. Capitol
Smithsonian Museum: choice to be determined (National Air and Space Museum, National Museum of Natural History, National Museum of American History, National Portrait Gallery, National Museum of the American Indian, or Smithsonian American Art Museum)