At Catlin Gabel our goal is to educate the whole student. While we are rightfully proud of our classroom education, the school provides extensive avenues for students to learn and grow outside the classroom and in ways they will enhance their emotional, spiritual, and social development. Outdoor education is an essential element of this effort and is integrated into the curriculum from 1st through 12th grades.

At Catlin Gabel our goal is to educate the whole student. While we are rightfully proud of our classroom education, the school provides extensive avenues for students to learn and grow outside the classroom and in ways they will enhance their emotional, spiritual, and social development. Outdoor education is an essential element of this effort and is integrated into the curriculum from 1st through 12th grades.

The school's outdoor program for the Middle and Upper Schools provides opportunities for students to face and overcome challenges, learn group living skills, and understand the way the natural world works. The program supplements the academic rigors faced by the individual student. These activities broaden the student's education by fostering self awareness, exposure to new environments, and challenges while providing important leadership opportunities. 

UPPER SCHOOL

Outdoor education in the Upper School focuses on teaching group living skills and providing students with challenges that expand their ability to work in novel environments. Students have over 20 trips available to them each year that range from two to seven days in length. Many of these trips take place during the school year on weekends, and include rafting, climbing, biking, skiing, and hiking. Summer trips are an excellent way for students to leave their cares behind and really dive into a new environment, leran new skills, and meet new people. Upper School students can also choose an after-school outdoor adventure course and a rock climbing course for P.E. credit. Financial aid is available for trips.

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Middle School students have many weekend trips available to them during the year, ranging from rock climbing to rafting to hiking. Adventurous summer trips are offered in June and July as well. These trips are led by experienced adults who have led trips in the wilderness for years.

Outdoor education is part of the ongoing sixth graders curriculum during the school year. Students learn about the geography of the state, how to take care of themselves in the woods, and basic camping and backpacking skills throughout the year.

LOWER SCHOOL

Our outdoor education begins with our youngest students closely observing nature — drawing insects and plants, writing poetry about trees and rain, and respectfully building creations using stones, leaves, and sticks. Field trips are embedded throughout the Lower School as a way to build a love and understanding of the outdoors. Students hike, follow the water cycle from Portland’s headwaters to the Bull Run reservoir, watch birds, and learn about the salmon cycle. First graders have their first class overnight by “camping” in tents on the field next to the Lower School building. Second graders spend two nights and three days in yurts at Champoeg State Park as they learn about early Oregon history and how the native Americans lived off the land. Third graders spend two nights and three days at the Oregon coast, studying tide pool creatures and the regions of Oregon. Fourth graders take several forest hikes throughout the year, and fifth graders study sustainable farming practices and spend three nights and four days exploring farms in the Willamette Valley.

Please see our upcoming trips for Middle and Upper Schoolers.