In September each team, its four teachers, and several additional faculty members take a trip away from the school for several days. Both the faculty and students look forward to this opportunity to discover each other as individuals and as friends. A vital part of the Middle School experience, this team trip offers new students a fun way to gain quicker entry into the group. Veteran students have a chance to renew old acquaintances and make new ones. The entire team focuses on building a cohesiveness among its members, a bond that will benefit them as they work together during the school year.
Children discover that they really can climb a mountain.
They find that they do have the inherent ability to make new friends. They may also learn for the first time that they can be away from family members and not just survive, but thrive. Through it all, they uncover clues that lead them to the belief that their teachers are people who care about them as individuals. They begin to identify teachers as people who are invested in their students' accomplishments. They come home secure in the knowledge that the same folks who were there for them when they were crying in the middle of the night, or were struggling to reach that mountain peak, will be the people rooting for them as they tackle the academic challenges ahead.