A Four Year Journey of Athletic and Outdoor Adventure

The ancient Greeks understood that an intimate bond between athletic, moral, and intellectual development leads to human strength and independence. They called excellence in body, mind, and character Areté, and they believed these three skills could be most dynamically nurtured in concert with one another. The ultimate purpose of our program is to help our students develop a lifelong love of exercise for joy and health to maintain Areté.
We believe that teenagers need to maintain respect for their developing bodies. Our physical education classes, which are offered to all our students each week, are focused on expanding each student’s physical capacities while deepening his or her level of self-respect. Our students’ capacities have been broadened through participation in kendo (Japanese swordsmanship), field games, volleyball, massage therapy, circus arts, orienteering, track & field, and yoga.

Additionally, all our students have the opportunity to participate in a number of varied team sports with their classmates in our After School Sports Program (ASSP). ASSP is a sports program designed to introduce students to competition and game play in traditional sports such as tennis, soccer, basketball, softball, track & field, and archery. Adolescents are ready to compete with one another with both vigor and respect. We open up the playing fields to their enthusiasm and skill.

Beyond this recreational program we are in the process of developing a serious competitive high school sports program with three foci: 1) Traditional CIF (California Interscholastic Federation) high school team sports such as volleyball, basketball, and track & field, 2) Alternative competitive sports such as kendo, orienteering, surfing, and adventure racing, with a strong emphasis on activities with direct interaction in nature and wilderness, and 3) a robust performing circus arts program. These three areas will assure that all our students find a niche, whether it be in competing with local public high schools, performing for joy and entertainment, or nurturing the deep connection between body and nature.

Indeed, each of our classes leaves campus at least once a year to spend extended time learning, exploring and living in nature with professional guides to learn geology, wilderness survival skills, and sustainable agriculture. Classrooms and desks are fine places to study – but not all of the time. Our students have the opportunity to learn together alongside the sea and in our local mountains and desert.