the very traits that will serve them well as they enter the Upper School. After Grade 4, each grade-level trip is intentionally designed to foster growth, independence, and collaboration: Grade 5: A three-day camping and kayaking Grade 6: A three-day camping trip on the Sonoma Coast encourages collaboration and personal goal-setting. Grade 7: A three-day trip to the American River emphasizes leadership in unfamiliar terrain through a high ropes course and whitewater rafting. trip to Santa Cruz introduces boys to responsibility and interdependence. Grade 8: An optional backcountry expedition with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) challenges boys to rise as collaborative, capable leaders. LEADERSHIP ISN’T SOMETHING BOYS GROW INTO OVERNIGHT. IT’S SOMETHING THEY PRACTICE, YEAR AFTER YEAR, MOMENT AFTER MOMENT. Our NOLS partnership has become a cornerstone of this vision. In the summer of 2024, Cathedral launched its first NOLS expedition. Nine rising Grade 8 students backpacked through North Cascades National Park in Washington. Accompanied by Head of School Burns Jones, the boys carried everything they needed, navigated wilderness terrain, and discovered what it means to lead with both self-reliance and empathy. This past summer, the second expedition raised the bar. Eleven rising eighth graders joined me on an eight-day canoe journey
2025–2026 RED&GOLD
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