Beyond the Classroom

Off-Campus Adventure

Our goal is for all students to develop academic skills, social confidence, and strength of character.

Dutchess Day School combines a traditional academic program with innovative, hands-on learning experiences. We are a small school where each of us enjoys the rewards of belonging to a lively extended family. Students at every level interact with one another both formally (older students reading to younger students, and weekly all-school assemblies) and informally (through school-sponsored events). Our surroundings are warm and hospitable, reminiscent of the private home the school once was.

Parents are an integral part of our school community: they serve as class parents, chaperones on class trips, volunteers at school fund-raisers and community events, and as mentors who visit classrooms to share their expertise and life experiences. It is through the partnership of parents, faculty, and students working together that we assure a successful individual experience for each child.

 

Projects and field trips augment classroom study and provide many opportunities for interdisciplinary learning. Every other year the fifth and sixth graders experience a weeklong environmental and biology trip to Cape Cod while the seventh and eighth graders explore history and art through a weeklong trip to Washington, D.C. These trips are not only educational but foster independence and bonding across grade levels.

Other shorter trips include historical landmarks in the Hudson Valley as students investigate American history; the theater and symphony at the Bardavon, various local farms, as well as New York City which provide rich opportunities for students to explore the arts; and an environmental exchange with Cary Institute to explore the sciences. 

These learning adventures are exciting and highly anticipated traditions at Dutchess Day School.