Outdoor Education
This year, we have a record number of trips planned to enrich your student’s educational experiences. We believe that education is not confined to the four walls of the classroom, and from K through 12; our sequential Outdoor Education Program offers a wide variety of experiences. Whether your student spends an overnight at our own Cedar Lake Camp, travels to AstroCamp, sea kayaks in the Channel Islands, explores Washington D.C. during the Presidential Inauguration, visits east coast colleges, or travels to New Orleans to rebuild homes after Hurricane Katrina—each experience provides a safe, inspiring, and holistic educational experience.
During these adventures, friendships are forged, memories are made, and students come back taller, more confidant, and ready to be their best selves. As a consequence, student participation on these trips is essential for their intellectual, physical, and social development. All trips are designed with safety as the primary concern and even when we contract with experienced outdoor companies, all trips will be chaperoned by Pilgrim faculty. So fasten your seatbelts as Pilgrim School students hit the road!
Elementary School trips:
K through 5th grade students will have a Family Retreat at Cedar Lake Camp from Saturday, April 25th to Sunday, April 26th. Bring your entire family for an educational experience you will not soon forget. The cost of $85 per person & covers lodging, program events, and four meals. (Detailed information will be mailed home in February.)
5th grade students will participate in a Pilgrim right of passage to AstroCamp from Monday, May 4th through Friday, May 8th. Sure to be one of the highlights of a students’ elementary experience, AstroCamp gives students a hands-on experience in science education, group dynamics, and problem solving. For more information, visit www.astrocamp.org and watch your 5th grader’s jaw drop! The cost is $525 per student. (Detailed information will be mailed home in February.)
Middle School trips:
6th grade students will travel to Yosemite National Park from Sunday, April 19th through Friday, April 24th. Based in a lodge in the main valley, students will participate in a program designed and run by the Yosemite Institute—one of America’s premier outdoor organizations. Students will learn science and team building in an experiential, winter environment amidst some of the most beautiful scenery found on the planet. The cost is $675 per student. (Detailed information will be mailed home in December.)
7th grade students will camp in Joshua Tree National Park from Monday, March 9th through Friday, March 13th. Under the guidance of Peak Performance instructors, students will learn how to pitch tents, cook food, navigate with a compass, and study the stars under a crystal desert sky. They will also learn the fundamentals of day hiking, rock climbing, and wilderness safety. All tents, stoves, and food will be provided. The cost is $675 per student. (Detailed information will be mailed home in December.)
8th grade students will coordinate their study of United States History with a trip to Washington D.C. for the historic 2009 Presidential Inauguration. World Strides—an organization with decades of experience leading trips to D.C.—will run this trip along with Pilgrim faculty. Students will leave on Saturday, January 17th and return on Wednesday, January 21st. In addition to being able to eyewitness the presidential swearing in, participants will attend a special inaugural ball with other students from around the country. They will also visit the Air and Space Museum, the Natural History Museum, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, and other hallowed places on the national mall. They will explore Ford’s Theatre (site of the 1865 Lincoln Assassination), enjoy Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown, tour Mt. Vernon, and visit Arlington National Cemetery—including the eternal flame at Kennedy’s gravesite. The cost of the trip will be $1998 paid directly to World Strides. This price includes all meals (except lunch), event tickets, transportation, an inauguration T-shirt, staffing, airfare, and airline fuel surcharges. (Detailed information will be mailed home in late August.)
Middle School Retreat: All 6th, 7th, and 8th graders will travel up to our Camp Cedar Lake from Wednesday, October 1st through Friday, October 3rd. This will be a chance for the entire middle school to get together, sleep in the lodge, play group-building games, learn about the upcoming student elections, and have a rockin’ sock-hop dance. The cost is $170 per student and will be facilitated by Pilgrim faculty. (Detailed information will be mailed home in late August.)
High School trips:
High School Retreat: All 9th through 12th graders will travel up to Camp Cedar Lake for a winter snow adventure from Wednesday, February 11th through Friday, February 13th. This will be a chance to forge friendships, discuss the challenges of adolescence, build snowmen, and escape the pressures of high school life. The cost is $170 per student and will be facilitated by Pilgrim faculty. Students will also have the option to sled, ski, or snowboard for an additional cost. (Detailed information will be mailed home in November.)
9th grade students will participate in an overnight sleepover at Pilgrim on the Friday night of the first week of school (Friday, September 5th from after school until 9:00 am on Saturday, September 6th.) The goal of this overnight will be to bond the 9th grade class together, all food and entertainment will be provided, and the cost is free. (Detailed information will be mailed home in mid August.)
9th grade students will participate in a Retreat at Camp Cedar Lake from Monday, October 20th through Friday, October 24th. Pilgrim faculty will lead students through a week of self-discovery by exploring the social & academic challenges of high school, gender differences, interpersonal communication, stereotypes, and personal growth through service. Students will also “give back” through camp service projects and participate in High and Low Ropes course led by professionals from Lodestone Adventures. The cost is $565 per student. (Detailed information will be mailed home in late August.)
10th grade students will go Hiking & Sea Kayaking in the Channel Islands from Monday, October 20th through Friday, October 24th. Run through Paddle Sports of Santa Barbara, participants will base-camp on Santa Cruz Island, take day-hikes and kayak trips around Anacapa Island and Santa Cruz Island, and explore Astronomy and natural history in the evenings. The cost is $675 per student. (Detailed information will be mailed home in late August.)
11th grade students will be investigating some of our nation’s premier colleges and universities on an East Coast College Tour run by Campus Excursions from Sunday, October 19th through Friday, October 24th. As selecting a college is arguably the most important decision facing your student at this age, we have developed this trip as a key component of Pilgrim’s comprehensive and individualized College Counseling Program. By the end of this trip, our juniors will have a more comprehensive understanding of the types of schools that may match their interests. We will be visiting colleges in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. Despite increasing fuel surcharges and airline fares, we have kept the cost of this trip (at $1990) at the same basic rate as last year’s college trip. The amount will be paid directly to Campus Excursions and you can contact the organization at campusexcursions@att.net (Detailed information will be mailed home in late July.) In order to secure airline tickets, College Excursions needs a $675 deposit by August 20th.
12th grade students: Please note that during HS trips week (October 20th to October 24th), seniors can participate on the East Coast College Tour or go on a college tour of their own or stay home and work on applications. It is up to the student and his or her family to determine how to best spend this week.
12th grade students will be heading up to Camp Cedar Lake for a college counseling retreat from Sunday, September 28th to Tuesday, September 30th. They will participate in workshops led by our College Counselor, Mrs. Liebau. They will also work on their college essays and get one-on-one feedback on those essays from Pilgrim English teacher, Ms. Innes. The goal of the retreat will be to jumpstart the college application process so that the students are less stressed and their parents don’t have to nag them quite so often during the rest of the fall. The cost of this retreat has already been incorporated into the senior grade fee. (Detailed information will be mailed home in late August.)
12th grade students will be heading to New Orleans for a Community Service Trip from Monday, May 25th through Wednesday, June 3rd. They will spend five days working with Habitat for Humanity to rebuild a home destroyed by Hurricane Katrina and then spend three days exploring the beautiful French quarter and the culture of southern Louisiana. This 10-day trip will cost $1995. (Detailed information will be mailed home in late August.)
