Several times a month, those associated with the California Connections Academy @ Ripon will take timeout from their regular routine to attend field trips.

“This is our chance for everyone to mix and mingle and see students along with their families, face to face,” said Susan Christensen, who is a fifth grade teacher at the online charter school the services students in grades in kindergarten through 12th grade.

On Oct. 21, she noted that 55 students coupled with 156 family members gathered at the Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze at Dell’Osso Family Farms.

“There was something (at Dell’Osso Farms) for everyone to do,” said Christensen, who has been at the Connections Academy since its opening in Ripon some five years ago.

This tuition-free online school is a fully accredited public education program, servicing the homes of students throughout San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Sacramento, Santa Clara, Contra Costa, Calaveras and Alameda counties.

Authorized under state law by the Ripon Unified School District, Connections Academy opened locally in 2012.

At Dell’Osso, students had a chance to do the corn maze, visit the haunted castle, climb atop the tire pyramid, launch away at the pumpkin blasters, enjoy a hay ride or take a spin on the speedway.

“Field trips are part of our curriculum,” said Diana Vicinanza of Connections Academy.

Christensen noted that some of the recent field trips have included college visits and several of the parks and local educational museums.

The Connection Academy group also has plans of visiting the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco, the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield, and the Nimbus Fish Hatchery in Folsom, to name a few.

For more information on California Connections Academy @ Ripon, call 800-382-6010 or log on to www.connectionsacademy.com.