Kayla L. ’26
Trips week has always been a highlight of the Nueva student experience. Students travel for a week to learn about subjects ranging from the legacy of indigenous Hawaii to the role of libraries in a democratic society in Boston and New York City. Trip members try new foods, meet new people, and develop new relationships with their classmates and teachers.
This year, the timing of Trips Week was moved up from late May to precede spring break in April. The changed timing has been the source of contention among the student body.
According to a recent survey of 104 Upper School students, 80.5% of respondents—excluding freshmen who did not experience the old schedule—preferred last year’s timing to this year’s. While 82% of students surveyed rated their trips experience either a four or five out of five this year, 25% of respondents complained about extracurricular disruptions.
Notably, this year’s week conflicted with the Parliamentary Debate team’s national championships. Members of the team either had to fly separately to trips after the tournament had ended or not attend at all.
Additionally, the academic schedule following felt to some as if they were flung right back into a flurry of assignments after returning from a two-week break.
“I came back after two weeks of doing nothing and had MAs announced as soon as I came back,” one respondent said. “It’s tough to mentally switch.”
Next year, trips week will remain in April but has been shifted to follow spring break. Students will return from spring break for three days of school before departing.
According to Upper School Division Head Liza Raynal, various overlapping schedules were taken into account when deciding on trips week timing.
This year, after school-wide events—such as spring break, holidays, and admissions week—were factored in, athletics was the main priority for deciding the new time.
The California Interscholastic Federation moved finals for every spring sport to May. Prior to this year, May trips only impacted the highest level athletes at Nueva, but now it would impact nearly every student athlete participating in spring sports. In track, for example, CCS semi finals took place in the second week of May.
According to Raynal, April will remain the best option for trips next year as well.
While March was originally a viable alternative, events such as parent-teacher conferences, the Innovative Learning Conference, and Decision Week—where newly admitted students visit the campus—made it difficult to schedule trips during the month.
If trips were moved to early May, sports timing would become an issue and, if moved to late May, projected travel costs became too high. If trips were hosted in late April, AP testing would be disrupted.
“We certainly wouldn’t want someone to choose an AP over a trip, that would break my heart,” Raynal said.
With this assortment of calendar conflicts taken into account, the early April timing became a necessary, even if unpopular, compromise.
Additional Research by Callan C. and Ainsley H.