Field trips give students the chance to learn beyond the classroom. They create shared memories, strengthen social skills, and bring lessons to life in a hands-on way. From museum visits to outdoor education programs, these experiences help students see their learning in new contexts and build important connections with peers and teachers.
But for many schools, managing the paperwork and payments behind each trip can be time-consuming and frustrating. School-Day offers a digital solution that replaces lost forms, cash envelopes, and manual tracking with an integrated system that saves time for staff and makes participation easier for families.
Field trips aren’t just a fun day out. They support learning in ways the classroom alone can’t always provide.
Students gain real-world context for what they’re studying, develop social skills through shared experiences, and build confidence by exploring new places. A visit to the science centre, conservation area, or even a local theme park can bring lessons to life in unforgettable ways.
“Field trips help level the playing field by exposing all students to new experiences, regardless of background.”
Source: Education Week
Think back to the trips that stood out for you as a student. These experiences stay with us, enrich school life, and help shape well-rounded learners.
Despite their benefits, planning and managing field trips often comes with headaches for staff and parents alike.
Paper permission forms get lost in backpacks or handed in late. Staff spend hours chasing missing signatures or clarifying incomplete forms. Cash handling requires careful tracking and counting, which increases the risk of errors or even loss.
Printing can be its own challenge. The printer always seems to run out of ink or jam when you have a stack of last-minute forms to send home.
Communication gaps can leave parents unclear about trip details, costs, or due dates. Manual tracking of who has paid or returned forms creates unnecessary work for administrators and can lead to confusion on the day of the trip.
School-Day replaces paper forms with secure, easy-to-use digital permission forms.
Staff can use board-approved templates to ensure compliance with district standards while customizing forms to collect essential details such as medical information and emergency contacts.
Parents complete and sign forms online with legally recognized e-signatures, eliminating lost paperwork and last-minute scrambles. No more trying to decipher an illegible signature or wondering if a student tried to fake it (not that any of us ever did that because we forgot to bring it home...).
This approach ensures consistent, compliant records for every trip.
School-Day combines permission and payment in one simple step.
Parents can pay online as they approve the trip, choosing from credit cards, EFT, or other supported methods. This integrated approach reduces the need for cash handling at schools and improves payment security.
Staff gain real-time visibility into who has paid and who still needs to respond, reducing the need for manual tracking and follow-up.
“School-Day really sits in the middle of the systems you already use, bringing finance and student data together in one place so you can manage it more effectively.”
— David Parisi, VP of Revenue, GM School-Day
David shares more about School-Day's payment solutions in our on-demand webinar.
A clear, accessible experience for parents helps encourage more families to participate.
School-Day’s mobile-friendly design works seamlessly on any device. The familiar, online shopping-style checkout makes it quick and intuitive for parents to review trip details, approve forms, and make payments whether they’re at home or on the go.
Automated notifications and reminders keep families informed about deadlines and trip updates, all without adding extra work for school staff.
School-Day helps staff and administrators save time by reducing manual, paper-based processes.
Permissions and payments are easy to see at a glance, making it simpler to confirm student lists and track payment status. There’s no chance of forms getting lost, damaged, or spilled on, and less manual data entry can save hours that would otherwise be spent chasing paperwork.
Refunds and reporting are also faster and more reliable, helping finance staff stay organized and on top of trip budgets.
“We really focus on making it easier with clear reports and best practices built into the system.”
— David Parisi, VP of Revenue, GM School-Day
Want to see how it all works? Watch the full School-Day webinar here to learn how to manage field trip payments and digital permission forms.
Consistent digital processes across schools support district standards while making life easier for school-level teams.
School-Day supports both board-level oversight and school-level planning.
Districts can set and maintain permission form templates that meet all legal and compliance requirements. Schools can then customize these forms with the specific details for each trip, including dates, locations, and special instructions.
This balance ensures consistent, reliable processes across the district while giving schools the flexibility to plan meaningful experiences that fit their students’ needs.
Sparkrock’s School-Day platform helps Canadian school boards modernize field trip management with secure digital permission forms and integrated online payments. This saves staff time, improves communication with parents, and encourages greater student participation.
Book a demo to see how your schools can make field trips easier for staff, simpler for families, and more rewarding for students.