Overnight trips are a significant portion of the school curriculum, and include:

6th Grade

6th grade students will have the opportunity to participate in a 5 day overnight at the Olympic Park Institute in Olympic Park, WA, located just 20 miles west of Port Angeles on Lake Crescent in the Olympic Park National Forest. This intensive science based program will focus on inquiry based learning, focusing on water shed environments and other earth science concepts that complement the students’ curriculum at Kadima Heschel West.

7th Grade

The 7th grade will participate in 5 day overnight to the Montecito Sequoia Lodge located in Kings Canyon National Park, only a short distance from Grant Grove. The program will allow students to explore the mixed conifer forest of Sequoia National Forest with experienced naturalists. It will be a program of discovery of the winter environments in this National Park. This program of winter travel and group activities will emphasize each student’s responsibility to the environment and the unique natural history of the Sierra mixed conifer forest and associated plants and animals. The importance of national parks to all people and the sharing of impressions through group discussions and individual journal exercises are emphasized.

The program includes elements of group cooperation and individual physical challenges. These challenges include destination skis, snowshoe explorations, and cooperative winter activities. Throughout the day, students will be involved with hands-on activities to increase their knowledge of the world around them and their ability to work together.

8th Grade

In the 8th grade, all students will either participate in an overnight experience to Washington, D.C. or the Israel Partnership program. The Washington, D.C. trip will take place in the spring. Students learn U.S. History and government in one of the most powerful cities in the world. Each student will feel, hear, see, and understand American history through themes of personal risk, commitment, sacrifice, and national values.
Students become players in the dramatic history of America while exploring the Capitol building and the Smithsonian Museums. They will come to understand the complexity of US history and visit many of the memorials that line the mall, as well as explore the United States Holocaust Museum and gain a deeper appreciation of the Jewish story of the past, and the importance of remembering that past as we look to the future. Designed to enhance the 8th grade social studies curriculum, students will gain a richer understanding of our history, the consequences of choices, and of their role in our continuing American story.

The Israel Partnership program is a two-week trip that takes place during the weeks surrounding Yom Ha-Zikaron (Israel’s Remembrance Day) and Yom Ha-atzmaut (Israel’s Independence Day). The program includes on-going contact between the schools through e-mail, video conferences and is highlighted by a trip to Israel in May where a delegation of students is hosted by the school and its students. Our school and students host the Israeli students around Thanksgiving in Los Angeles.

Because a limited number of students can travel to Israel, and because this trip requires considerable independence and responsibility, there will be a selection process for this trip that will begin in the Spring of 2008. Those not selected or who do not wish to participate in the Israel Partnership will attend the Washington. D.C. trip.