🎢 Kings Dominion Spring Trip

Tolbert Music Advanced Ensembles • Friday, May 30

Tolbert Music is thrilled to announce our first annual Spring Trip to Kings Dominion! Advanced ensembles from across our partner schools will come together to perform for adjudicators—then celebrate with a fun day at the park.

📌 Key Information

  • Date: Friday, May 30th, 2025

  • Cost: $95/student
    (includes park admission, performance fee, bus transportation, and a Subway dinner on the way home)

  • Who: Advanced Ensemble students only
    (students must currently be enrolled in an ADVANCED Band or Orchestra ensemble through Tolbert Music)

  • Signup Deadline: Friday, April 18th

🎟️ This is the official signup. Once submitted, payment will be expected. We use this form to reserve tickets and buses.

📝 Student Commitments

  • Extra Practice: Students attending this trip are expected to put in additional effort on their music.

  • Rehearsal Attendance: Students must attend at least 2 of 4 rehearsals, or submit a recording showing mastery of the music.

Rehearsal Schedule:

  • Rehearsal 1: Monday, May 19th – Bishop O’Connell High School

  • Rehearsal 2: Thursday, May 23rd – Bishop O’Connell High School

  • Rehearsal 3: Tuesday, May 27, 6:30–8:00 PM – Bishop Ireton High School

  • Rehearsal 4: Wednesday, May 28, 6:30–8:00 PM – Bishop Ireton High School

Trip Itinerary

(Christ Episcopal School ONLY) 8:30AM: Leave from CES on school bus en route to the rendezvous.

9:30 AM: Call time at rendezvous: Springfield Town Center, 6500 Springfield Mall, Springfield, VA 22150. Meet on the North Side of the mall, outside of Target. (Map included below)

10 AM: Buses depart en route to Kings Dominion.

11 AM: Arrive at the park, check in with Chaperones, distribute tickets.

approx 11:30 AM - 4PM: Enjoy the park! Your group can follow it’s own schedule on what rides you want to enjoy, when and where you want to eat lunch, etc.

4:15 PM: Get instruments off the bus and head to warm-up area

5:05 PM: Warm Up

5:30 PM: Performance

6:00 PM: Students return to buses

6:30 PM: Buses begin return trip to rendezvous: Springfield Town Center, 6500 Springfield Mall, Springfield, VA 22150. Meet on the North Side of the mall, outside of Target. (Map provided below)

  • Students eat a provided meal on the bus. If your student has dietary restrictions, we ask that you please contact us to work it out. Outside food is not permitted in the park so we can assist you with storing something during the day, or make sure there is an acceptable option for your student.

approx 7:30 PM: Arrival at Rendezvous. Please arrive a little early just in case!

(Christ Episcopal School ONLY) approx 8:30 PM: CES students arrive back at school

The Rendezvous

Some other things to know:

  • The only thing your student may need to be prepared to purchase is lunch, but Kings Dominion is Cashless so please plan appropriately.

  • The alternative would be to pack your student a lunch. They will need to eat it before we enter the park, as outside food and drink is not permitted.

  • Child debit cards are a good way to give your child something to spend with, while having a hard limit on what they can purchase.

  • We will create a group WhatsApp that is available to all parents who have students on the trip. We will drop updates throughout the day so you can be reassured of how things are going.

  • We have ensured that all school guidelines are met for this field trip.

  • We are respectfully asking that all students and Chaperones use the buses to attend this trip. We feel that, for our first time, we want to be all together and not have to worry about where people coming from. There are a lot of schools involved and getting track of all that really needs to happen before we disembark.

  • The meal on the bus ride home will be purchased from Subway. I will be purchasing for a party slightly larger than ours with a variety of options. I cannot guarantee that anyone would get their first choice but I’ve budgeted for a little extra, knowing that we’ll have had a long day in the park and we may have some extra hungry kids!

  • Kings Dominion does not require special performance attire, and rather encourages students to wear what will be comfortable in the park. If your school has a PE uniform, that would be the best thing to go with. Otherwise, please make sure what you are wearing is school appropriate. It’s a long day with lots of walking so you will definitely want sneakers.

  • A small bag that can hold a water bottle, some sunscreen, and anything else small that your student may want is highly recommended!

  • Anything that would be prohibited at school - I’m thinking specifically and especially of smartphones - is prohibited on this trip. Recall that you can receive updates via the group WhatsApp that is administered by teachers and chaperones. If we find a student with a smartphone or other prohibited item, we will need to confiscate it until the end of the trip.

Chaperones

We need parent Chaperones for this trip to work!

Chaperones should be comfortable being responsible for 4-6 students, addressing minor behavioral issues, taking roll of your group, and getting to the performance with all students on time.

Chaperone cost is $60, which includes your park ticket, bus seat, and the provided dinner.

Each school will need to have its own parent Chaperone volunteers. This ensures that all students are properly supervised by an adult who is an approved volunteer by the school they attend.

We need to ensure we have the proper ratios of adults to students at each school. If we do not have enough Chaperones at a given school, we will reach out to parents to get another. If we have more volunteers than necessary, we will lottery off the spots. If your heart is set on going and you don’t get one of the spots, I’ll happily add you to a bus if we have extra room, or invite you to drive separately. I have also created an option on the form that indicates that you would be a Chaperone if one is needed, but would recuse yourself if there are enough.

Official Signup Form:

Please read all the above details before filling out this form. Do not fill it out until you are 100% ready to commit to the trip. If you need questions answered before filling it out, please contact your program director with your questions. We’re excited to have you join us for this experience!