Expeditions

Edward Abbey, sometimes called the Thoreau of the America West, said "wilderness is not a luxury, but a necessity of the human spirit." We couldn't agree more. So we take our students on three extended trips into the great outdoors: a fall back-country hike to Garibaldi Park, a winter outing, and a spring ocean kayak.

These expeditions provide physical and mental challenges intended to bring out the best in individuals and the groups in which they work and play; challenges that call on the values on which IPS is founded: wisdom, courage and integrity. Students and staff also have a chance to get to know one another informally, outside the classroom.

In sharing hard work, fears and triumphs, hot meals and stories around a campfire, students and teachers build mutual trust and respect that carries into the classroom when they return to school.