Each year includes a Class Trip – an event much anticipated and long remembered by the students. Class Trips are designed to enhance the curriculum, strengthen the class community, and serve others.
The Ninth Grade trip, usually at the beginning of the school year, brings together the newest of the high school cohorts in what students always describe as a bonding experience. Often connected with the Earth Science Main Lesson, trips are typically taken to spots of geological interest that have included the Delaware River and coal-mining country, Bear Mountain, the Shawangunks, and the Hudson River valley.
Tenth Graders return to the Hawthorne Valley Farm, fondly remembered by students from their elementary years, but now encountered anew as a thriving economic enterprise engaged with its local Hudson Valley community and beyond. Students typically work in the Farm Store, the bakery, the cheese cave, the dairy barn, and the market garden, developing a new appreciation for responsibly sourced food.
The Eleventh Grade trip to the Kimberton Hills Camphill Community is often mentioned by graduates as a life-changing experience. As visitors to this intentional community that includes differently-abled adults, students gain a profound appreciation for the variety of human experience in all of its manifestations. Every year some students will return as Camphill summer interns to expand and deepen their experience.
Seniors nearing the end of their high school journey travel together on an expedition of service. Past trips have included helping to rebuild homes in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, working with local communities in Santa Fe to improve schools and community spaces, and working with the Navajo community in Utah. This culminating class trip always provides an opportunity for students to reflect on their journey together and to appreciate the gifts they have given and received in their time at Rudolf Steiner.