The Camping Trip is aimed at providing a fun, educational, and adventurous outdoor opportunity for the students at Chelsea. It starts on Thursday morning with the normal drop-off, which is followed by packing and preparing to leave. The groups usually leave by 10:30 am to head to their various locations. The groups are broken up into Middle and High school and boys and girls, so 4 total groups. All 5th-8th graders are eligible for the Middle School Trip, and 9-12th graders for the High School. We expect that all students who are able, participate, as this is part of our educational experience at Chelsea. 

The groups are led by Chelsea Faculty along with Chelsea parents (many of whom are seasoned campers). The chaperones plan a variety of experiences during the time at the site. We try to have a priest say Mass for each group. The hope is that the students learn various things, including how to pack, do meal prep, build a fire, sleep outdoors, and generally become more comfortable being in this kind of setting. The groups then return to Chelsea on Friday in time for normal dismissal pickup. All the sites are located in the George Washington National Forest, between Front Royal and Fort Valley. The high school trips are more of a "roughing it" experience as both groups hike/walk 1-2 miles from the drop-off to a campsite with no bathrooms. The Middle School groups are at a campground that is close to parking and restroom facilities.

All MS and HS boys info sheet and packing lists

HS Girls Info sheet and packing list

• Upper school students usually pack the required food in their packs, so all upper school students should try to keep some space in their bags. Tote bags and boxes will be available for the remaining items/food if we run out of space in bags.
• Students cannot bring any weapons, including knives, on this camping trip.
• The evening will get very cold, possibly down into the low-30s/high-20s. Please make sure your child(ren) packs accordingly!
• Sleeping bags should be rated for the above-noted temperature, and a sleeping pad (to add a layer of warmth between the ground and sleeping bag) is recommended.

DEPARTURE & RETURN TIMES:

• Students should arrive at the normal morning drop-off time on Thursday.
• All middle school students will depart at approximately 8:30 am.
• All high school students will depart at approximately 9:45-10:00 am (after they double-check their pack and prepare/pack food).
• Friday pickup from Chelsea will be at the normal time unless otherwise communicated.
• Chaperone drivers should plan to depart the Camping Trip Locations at 1:00 pm.
• Shuttles will run at the normal time on both Thursday morning and Friday afternoon (they should depart Chelsea between 3:00/3:15 unless otherwise communicated).