The Road to Discovery: How Middle School Trips Bring Learning to Life
From the first ropes course in fifth grade to crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge in eighth, Middle School trips represent a progression that helps students see themselves as active participants in their learning and their world.
Grade 5: La Foret
Grade 5 marks the start of Middle School at Graland and includes students’ first overnight trip. Each fall, fifth graders travel to La Foret Conference and Retreat Center in the Black Forest near Colorado Springs, an experience that helps them grow in confidence and independence.
The trip strengthens bonds among students and teachers while promoting collaboration and trust. At La Foret, students navigate high and low ropes courses that challenge them to communicate, take risks, and rely on one another. For many, it is their first time away from home as Middle Schoolers, offering a chance to practice responsibility and courage in a supportive environment.
While not directly tied to classroom learning, La Foret helps students build the relationships and self-assurance they will carry with them throughout Middle School. It marks the beginning of a journey defined by exploration, connection, and growth.
Grade 6: Keystone Science School and the Southwest Trip
Each fall, sixth graders head to the Keystone Science School, where classroom lessons about ecosystems come to life in Colorado’s high country. Guided by science teacher Mr. Aaron Murray, students study abiotic and biotic factors, adaptations, and trophic levels, then apply that knowledge through field investigation.
At Keystone, students explore forest and aquatic habitats, collecting samples and observing how organisms adapt to Colorado’s mountain environment. They analyze how conditions such as pollution, temperature, and elevation affect survival and biodiversity.
Back on campus, students design an original organism adapted to one of Colorado’s life zones, using observations from their fieldwork to inspire creativity and critical thinking. Through this experience, they build confidence in their ability to observe, collaborate, and apply what they’ve learned, skills that support them in future Middle School experiences.
In the spring, sixth graders travel to Mesa Verde for the Southwest Trip. Before the journey, they spend time preparing in Grade 6 history class with Mr. Masters, building background knowledge that enriches their experience in the field. Since 1971, this trip has given students the opportunity to learn firsthand about Colorado’s earliest inhabitants. Students participate in archaeological digs, create pottery, learn traditional dances, and explore cliff dwellings that reveal the ingenuity of early Coloradans. Camping together in this historic landscape fosters teamwork, independence, and reflection, making it one of the most memorable experiences of Middle School.
Grade 7: Washington, D.C.
By seventh grade, preparation for the class trip to Washington, D.C. becomes a yearlong exploration of democracy and the events that shaped our nation. Each spring, the trip brings together months of classroom learning, projects, and local experiences, helping students see their lessons within a broader civic and historical context.
Under the guidance of history teacher Mr. Jeff Wolkoff, students begin the year researching the original thirteen colonies. Collaborating with Innovation Specialist Mr. Jorge Chavez in the Gates Invention and Innovation Lab, they design and create flags representing each colony’s geography, economy, and culture.
Throughout the year, students take local field trips around Denver, including visits to the Judicial Court and the Colorado State Capitol, where they see how government functions at the state level before exploring those same principles on a national scale in Washington, D.C. In their “Podcasting for a Purpose” project, they learn how a bill becomes a law by forming subcommittees, drafting proposals for new “laws” at Graland, and producing podcasts that advocate for their ideas.
Before the trip, students participate in sessions with the Mizel Museum, studying interviews with Holocaust survivors and examining how propaganda and resistance shaped their experiences. These lessons prepare them for their visit to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, building empathy and understanding.
Once in Washington, students visit sites including the White House, Capitol Hill, Arlington National Cemetery, the Lincoln Memorial, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Mount Vernon, Gettysburg, and the Library of Congress. Through these experiences, they gain perspective on leadership, history, and the responsibilities of citizenship.
After returning to campus, students complete “Sacred Spaces, Sacred Places,” a reflection project in which they choose a monument or museum that holds personal meaning. They share what resonated most through writing, art, or multimedia projects, processing their experiences and how the lessons of history remain relevant today.
Grade 8: Civil Rights Trip
The eighth-grade Civil Rights Trip to the American South serves as the culmination of Middle School trips at Graland.
In addition to preparation in English and history classes, students take part in local field experiences that connect Colorado’s civil rights history to the broader movement across the United States. At the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library, they participate in a guided tour, learning about the contributions of African Americans in the American West. Their visit to the History Colorado Center highlights key moments in Colorado’s civil rights history, while time at Lincoln Hills, one of the nation’s only Black-owned resorts during the Jim Crow era, offers perspective on its cultural significance. A Denver Graffiti Tour encourages students to consider how public art gives voice to shared experiences and community stories.
Students also visited New Hope Baptist Church, one of Denver’s oldest Black congregations known for its role in the city’s civil rights movement, where they spoke with the pastor. These experiences, along with personal visits such as a conversation with Graland grandparent Carlotta Walls LaNier, a member of the Little Rock Nine, provided both historical perspective and personal connection.
As students journey from Atlanta to Memphis, they visit landmarks such as the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, Ebenezer Baptist Church, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, and the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. Guided by driving questions, including how nonviolence, faith, and creative expression have influenced movements for equality, students reflect on how these lessons continue to resonate today.
When students return to campus, they extend their learning through culminating projects based on their selected driving question. This allows them to reflect on their experiences and how these connect to their understanding of history and social change.
In many ways, the Civil Rights Trip brings together everything students have learned and experienced throughout Middle School. As the capstone of their overnight trips, it embodies what it means to Live the Learning—connecting curiosity with experience, empathy with understanding, and reflection with growth.
In summer 2025, the Grade 8 MESH team and Middle School educators received a summer grant to expand the Civil Rights Trip experience. Their goal: deepen an already powerful program through local context, interdisciplinary connections, and meaningful reflection.
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"Life happens beyond the four walls of the classroom. Our trips program gives students the opportunity to live what they’ve learned out loud."
-Marti Champion, Head of Middle School
Graland Country Day School
Graland Country Day School is a private school in Denver, Colorado, serving students in preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school. Founded in Denver in 1927, Graland incorporates a rich, experiential learning approach in a traditional classroom setting, emphasizing the development of globally and socially conscious leaders who excel academically.
