Trips and Retreats

This retreat takes place in the winter. Our program at Forest Home in Ojai Valley includes team-building activities, wall climbing, ropes course, various team sports competitions, hiking, fire-building, introductory taxonomy, stargazing, and other collaborative activities. Students are comfortably housed in four-bedroom cabins, under the supervision of our faculty chaperones, and enjoy all-you-can-eat food service in the cafeteria.

The Catalina Environmental Leadership Program is conducted in partnership with Catalina Island Camps. Students participate in snorkeling adventures, nature hikes, and laboratory activities in order to maximize learning. Individual and group challenge activities encourage students to think more about themselves and their relationships with others and their environment.

As a culminating event of Middle School, students participate in a unique program in Santa Barbara that affords them a real sense of self. Our graduating Middle School students take part in ropes course activities, campfires, stargazing expeditions, paddle boarding, kayaking, and various self-reflection activities. Luxurious resort housing along a stream in the Santa Barbara foothills, with access to the beach, is one of the highlights of the experience for our students.

Each spring, Viewpoint students can opt to go on the East Coast College Tour which includes visits to colleges and universities that represent a variety of choices available to students. In previous years, Viewpoint has visited the campuses of Yale, Tufts, Trinity, the University of Connecticut, George Washington, Columbia, Georgetown, American, University of Pennsylvania, New York University, and Boston University, among others. This trip is intended as an opportunity for juniors embarking upon the college evaluation process.

The freshman class participates in a two-night, three-day retreat each fall. Geared toward building camaraderie among classmates, this retreat features water activities such as swimming, surfing, and kayaking, as well as volleyball and other sports.

In support of Viewpoint’s foreign language offerings, there are optional trips each year to foreign countries, depending upon student interest. Every other year there are trips to China, France, and Spain, and in recent years Viewpoint’s students have traveled to Germany, Italy, Japan, Belize, Costa Rica, Argentina, and the former Soviet Union.

Our nation’s history forms the basis for this journey through several of the original 13 colonies. The eight-day Voyage of Discovery is an optional, annual student tour of Colonial Williamsburg, Washington, and New York, taking place during Spring Break.