The Odyssey Trip
The Odyssey Trip embraces the idea of a journey of social-emotional growth. The adolescents dive deeply into community life through an eight to ten day camping trip, taking on all aspects of their daily life, from planning to preparing to cooking to caring for each other. They bond through their collaborative work and their desire to thrive as a member of a unit.
Spanish Exchange
An aim of the Adolescent Programme is to reach a proficient level in Spanish. Throughout the course of the year, the Adolescents attend Spanish lessons three times per week, developing vocabulary, grammar, and conversational skills. As a way of integrating the their language development with meaningful engagement with Spanish culture, they embark on a one-week trip to Spain. Besides practicing their Spanish, they will meet other Montessori adolescents, expand their community, and learn new ways to interact in the world.
X-Term
The last two weeks of the academic year are reserved for the X-term. Unlike any of the other cycles of study, the topic of this term is chosen by the Adolescents themselves. Beginning mid-January, they have the assignment of planning a two-week unit of study that immerses the community in a specific topic. As part of its design, the adolescents are encouraged to plan a two-to-three-day trip for the end of the term. It is up to the students to choose the destination of the trip, to plan the activities, and to work and engage in the producing and selling of goods through their small business to earn the required funding for the trip.