SAUGUS-Fifth graders looking forward to a little getaway time with their annual Merrowvista trip will have to settle for being a little closer to home, but school officials promise it will be no less adventurous.For nearly 30 years, students have been taking an end of the year trip to Merrowvista, an American Youth Foundation Camp in Tuftonboro, N.H. But the tradition was questioned earlier this year when Superintendent Keith Manville said the school department’s lawyer raised concerns over liability. Manville said the attorney told him he was “out of his mind” to send kids out of state overnight because the liability was staggering.With that in mind, elementary school principals along with a handful of parents sat down to discuss alternatives.Manville said the committee came up with a week of activities that include long days of adventure, art, music and fun, but will have the kids in their own beds each night.Lynnhurst School Principal Susan Carney said they tried to pull together all the fun things that happened at Merrowvista, while keeping the kids close to home.A bonus to the program, Carney added, is that Veterans School students will be able to participate along with students from the Lynnhurst, Oaklandvale and Waybright schools.Typically Veterans School students traveled to Merrowvista solo while the other three schools went together. Carney said she always thought the students lost a little by not being all together.The plan is to split the children into groups that will mix students from different schools. Carney said the kids would remain in the same group with the same chaperones all week. The kids will then spend two days at Project Adventure in Beverly, which covers the outdoor facet of the Merrowvista trip. Project Adventure includes all the ropes and climbing courses the students would experience at Merrowvista. Carney said day two includes orienteering in Breakheart Reservation.”I don’t care if it’s raining,” she said. “They’ll put on their raincoats and boots and learn to work a compass and find their way in the rain.”Carney said they also have the help of an art teacher who will work with the kids on a formal art project. There will be a baseball game and the kids will learn all the silly camp songs they also would learn at Merrowvista.Carney said the week would culminate with a concert at the Belmonte Middle School, games, cotton candy, popcorn and a moving up ceremony of sorts.”It’ll be a time to say, ?Goodbye, see you next year at the Belmonte,'” she said.School Committee member Christine Wilson said she likes how the program is tied to the middle school since that’s where the kids are headed.The weeklong party does come at a cost. Students will be asked to pay $250 apiece, largely for transportation, but Carney said there would be fundraising.”We will have a candy sale,” she said. “Some kids opt out and don’t sell at all but in the past I’ve had some kids raise enough money that they could go for free.”