Educational Adventures

Overnight activities are designed to strengthen relationships, provide enjoyable experiences, and promote skill development beyond the traditional classroom through a variety of CYSP activities such as test practice, community service, and extracurricular engagement. These school-organized events—including sleepovers and lock-ins held at various locations—require adviser or staff supervision and parent permission to qualify for official overnight points. While additional activities like test prep or tutoring during these events may be logged separately, they cannot be duplicated across categories. CYSP views overnight activities as a meaningful and well-rounded opportunity for scholars to grow personally, build connections, and develop skills in a supportive environment.

The point value allocated to this category is 30 points. The maximum Overnight Activities entries allowed for each student are up to 10 nights throughout the school year.

Examples:

• School lock-in events (at least with 2 supervisors)
• Out-of-town camping trips sponsored by the school
• Focus study group on overnight activities 
• Out-of-town college trips 
• Out-of-state school events (e.g., MATHCON, CONSEF)
• All overnight activities must implement an educational component.  

SEL Competencies:

Relationship Skills: Building relationships with their peers. 

Cultural Exposure activities are a core principle of CYSP, designed to introduce scholars to diverse cultures while strengthening essential social-emotional learning skills needed to thrive as global citizens. Through participation in cultural events and visits to cultural centers, scholars learn to collaborate across differences, respect various traditions, and develop empathy, self-awareness, and effective communication in multicultural settings. Engagement in this category is mandatory for most scholars (optional for seniors), with up to 10 points available and a maximum of five entries per year, reinforcing CYSP’s commitment to developing well-rounded, globally minded individuals.

Examples:

• Attending cultural festivals
• Visiting Chinatown, Greektown, Chinese, Italian cultural centers/museums, etc..
• Attending Hispanic Heritage Celebration, Amish culture, African American culture, and Native American culture events.
• Visiting cultural centers
• International programs which are organized by the school, community, society
• Attending a cultural event hosted by the school
• Visiting museums that reflect different cultural backgrounds

SEL Competencies:

Social Awareness: Exploring diversity.  

Out-of-town trips provide scholars with meaningful opportunities to explore new environments while strengthening social-emotional learning through increased curiosity, engagement, and cultural awareness. Research shows these educational journeys have lasting academic and career benefits by expanding scholars’ perspectives beyond their local communities. Organized by schools or advisors with proper supervision and parent permission, these trips extend beyond nearby metropolitan areas to broaden horizons, enrich learning, and support scholars’ personal and emotional growth.

In-town trips provide scholars with meaningful opportunities to explore their local communities while strengthening social-emotional learning through community engagement, real-world connections, and enhanced social skills. These school-organized experiences—required for grades 4–6 and supervised by advisers with parent permission—help scholars better understand their cities by connecting classroom learning to practical experiences. This category is worth 8 points, with a maximum of four entries allowed per school year.

Examples: 

Any Field trip, like visiting museums, the zoo, or fairs in town

Not applicable: Sport Activities, Skating, Bowling, picnic, restaurant visit, etc. 

SEL Competencies:

Relationship Skills: Building relationships with their peers. Team activity. 

A well-planned college visit gives scholars the opportunity to explore campuses, academic programs, and student life while strengthening social-emotional learning through communication, relationship-building, and meaningful interactions. These visits help scholars ask questions, connect with peers, and gain a clearer understanding of their future educational paths. Participation is mandatory for high school scholars (optional for younger grades), worth up to 12 points, with a maximum of four entries per school year.

Examples:

• Visit a local college or university on your school trip.
• Visit a college or university with the  CYSP group and advisor.
• Scheduled a college or university visit with parents/ guardians.

Not Applicable: Sports activities, Academic competitions, and taking courses at a college. 

SEL Competencies:

Relationship Skills: Building relationships with their peers. Team activity. 

Responsible Decision Making: Helping with college choices.