Camping

Grades 1 through 8 camp every Fall and Spring – the students, teachers, and a small group of parent chaperones, all go away together. As students age, these trips increase in both complexity and length, starting from two days/one night in the lowest grades and growing to four days/three nights in middle school. The responsibilities increase accordingly, with students growing additional responsibility in the set up, cooking, and clean-up process.

By middle school, students are ready to operate much of the camping tasks independently as well as take on larger physical challenges, such as rock climbing or whitewater rafting. These experiences continue to grow their resilience and responsibility.

For some students, there can be a sense of trepidation about their first camping trip; that feeling is embraced, as part of the comfortable being uncomfortable process. These same students return home, proud of what they accomplished.

The kindergarten camping experience is designed to prepare these students for the “bigger” camping trips in subsequent years. Kindergarteners have a month-long camping curriculum, which culminates in a one night “camping trip” on the Helios field.

Students go off campus for a hike during the day of the camp-out. Then they return to campus to eat a meal cooked in the garden kitchen and then they participate in their first Helios campfire, where the graduating eighth graders teach them how to make S’mores! Kindergarten parents are invited, but not required, to join the teachers and stay overnight with their child.

We kick off each school year with Helios Family Camping, a weekend-long camping trip to a nearby campsite. This offers a special chance for our community to connect after a summer apart. We are proud to say that the vast majority of our families attend this optional weekend, packed with games, crafts, hikes, and s’mores. This Helios tradition is as beloved by our students as it is by our families–even those who are “not campers.”