Field Trips

Learning outside the classroom is an integral component of supporting a love of lifelong learning.

Renaissance School embraces our downtown location with regular classroom trips to the University of Virginia, Live Arts, The Paramount, Light House Studio, etc.. Renaissance School also builds outside-the-classroom learning into the school year through organized trips.
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Ninth Week

Called “Ninth Week” because it originally occurred during the ninth week of each semester. During this time, students engage in a week-long trip off campus that integrates real-world experiences with the classroom curriculum. Ninth Week trips include college campus visits as part of the week. Typically, Ninth Week trips in the fall (9th and 10th grades) take place in Virginia and go farther afield in the spring (11th and 12th grades). Previous Ninth Week destinations included New York / Boston / Charleston / Louisville / Canada / France / Outer Banks / Nashville / Cass, WV / Mountain Lake / Chesapeake Bay / Montebello / Harper’s Ferry.

Arts Practicum

Wednesday afternoons at Renaissance School are a regular time where the arts intersect with the real world – Arts Practicum! Our focus throughout the four years rotates. During this time, our students explore practical life skills such as basic car maintenance, student health (nutrition, exercise, mental health, and healthy relationships), civic engagements (government, policies, and politics), and hands-on skills (gardening, knitting, etc). We also embrace our downtown community through partnerships that provide a more immersive arts experience (Light House Studio, Music Resource Center, IX Park, just to name a few!).

Sixth Day / Field Trip Day

Sixth Day was formed in March of 2020 by the Academic Dean and Head of School as an opportunity to allow students and faculty to take a break from remote classes and embrace the many ways in which the online format can strengthen a community. Sixth Day began as an at-home all-school community project occurring on every Sixth Day of school. While Sixth Day was part of the remote learning experience, it has since evolved into a new tradition: Field Trip Day! Field Trip Day is a day where students and faculty take one day out of the year to embrace community learning together. In the past we traveled to special exhibits at the Virginia Museum of Fine Art, National Air and Space Museum, and the Pioneer Cultural Museum.