Adventure
Trips provide great opportunities for personal growth and often build closeness and comradery between individuals within the groups. Immersion in new and challenging environments invites students to expand their comfort zones and provides unique experiential educational opportunities to complement those occurring on our campus.
All-School Fall Camping Trip (6th-12th)
A two night all-school camping trip during the fall term serves as a gentle introduction to camping and provides many opportunities to relax, enjoy nature, and bond with classmates. For many years this trip had taken place at a local state park with hiking trails and a lake for fishing and boating.
February Intersession (6th-12th)
Students venture off campus for a week to participate in small group experiential learning trips with wilderness, service, and cultural focuses.
In recent years students have embarked on the following adventures: Cross country skiing in northern Minnesota, backpacking in Arizona, service work in Des Moines IA, and visiting museums in St. Louis MO.
Spring Trips (6th-11th)
Each spring, small groups head off campus to explore new and challenging environments, to work together to build community, and to have fun. In recent years these adventures have included biking to small local farms to complete service work, rock climbing in Wisconsin, canoeing in Missouri, and conservation work at an Iowa nature preserve.
May Term Trips (11th & 12th)
May Term trips are meant to be intense and challenging. They often engage students in significant preparatory and planning work during the quarter leading up to the trip. Traditionally offerings have included an annual wilderness trip, focusing on physical challenges and gaining outdoor experience, and a semi-annual Spanish language trip to Latin America which focuses on immersion in language and culture, and also includes a service component. Urban adventure trips are occasionally offered as well and focus on culture and service.
Service
All students participate in service learning during their time at Scattergood. High school students are required to complete 30 hours of service work per year of attendance. Scattergood provides a variety of opportunities to fulfill this requirement throughout the year and students are also welcome to complete hours of service outside of school.
Juniors and seniors can participate in month-long, off-campus service trips each spring. These trips traditionally include service trips within the United States and in Latin America. During the Latin America trips, students stay with host families and participate in a variety of community action activities. Recent projects include helping to build a new medical center, building more efficient cookstoves, and clearing trails.
Friends education strives to be socially responsible… Because Friends believe that faith requires action in the world, the schools emphasize the development of a caring community, peaceful resolution of conflict, and service to others, especially those less fortunate. .. Students grow into compassionate and responsible adults who recognize their interconnectedness with the larger human family.
