Electives, outdoor learning, integrated school experience, service learning and after school options

What other classes are offered at New School?

The middle school years are a wonderful time to expand horizons and discover new passions. It is also a time of great social-emotional change and growth. New School honors this growth window, providing many additional opportunities for students to grow beyond the core curriculum fostering creativity and curiosity. We set aside time each week for students to work independently on the projects of their choice, and we have less structured outdoor time for them to run and play. Each week, students are able to engage in a combination of extra-curricular activities, elective courses, and service projects. Below you can find a list of some of these opportunities that students have access to at New School.

Electives Courses

Each trimester, students can engage in two different elective courses, which run weekly for the duration of the trimester.  Highly qualified local experts and teachers teach these.  Present and past elective choices include:

  • Airplane Engineering/Design*

  • Cooking

  • Movement: Pickleball, Ultimate Frisby, Individual Sports, Futsal, Beach Volleyball, Outdoor Games*

  • Fine Art: Mixed Media, Brave Art, Skateboard Art

  • Green Design

  • Drama/Theater, Clowning, Musical performance

  • Photography

  • Programming (Scratch and JavaScript/Python)

  • Reverse Engineering

  • Science Labs

  • Sailing I & II*

  • Tree Fort Design and Building*

    *Hosted off-campus or at the outdoor campus

Additional Learning Opportunities

Beyond outdoor leadership and electives, New School has many other opportunities each year for students to engage in learning beyond the core classroom. Below are some examples of learning that happens during the school day and after school. Integrated school experiences are available to all New School students during the school day.

Integrated School Experiences and Classes

  • OWL - Our Whole Lives: Sexual Education

  • Engineering design projects at Gorge MakerSpace with Jack Perrin (view student projects from 2021 here)

  • Volunteer Service projects around our local community

  • Outdoor experiential learning at Mitchell Point campus

  • Boat building at the Hood River Aquatic Center (view the 2021 boat racing video here)

  • Overnight trips (2 or 3 each year): view past trips Ekone Ranch and Mt Saint Helens

  • Sailing field trips through Gorge Junior Sailing and STEM curricular connections

After-School Experiences and Opportunities

  • Robotics clubs and teams, including First Lego League Teams

  • Oregon Battle of the Books team

  • After-school math help

  • After-school art club

  • Writing specialist support (learn more here)

  • Viento Crossfit youth classes

  • Spanish classes

Outdoor and Service Learning

Learning outside the walls of the classroom is a priority at New School. Students spend 4 hours a week in the Fall and Spring trimesters at New School’s beautiful Mitchell Point campus. There, they build, garden, cook, swim, zipline, problem-solve, and create.  In the winter trimester, grade 6 and 7 students engage in community service each winter trimester. Grade 8 students take OWL classes in winter trimester.

On Friday afternoons, students step into New School’s “outdoor classroom” at the Mitchell Point campus! It’s a time for them to connect with nature, serve the community, and build meaningful bonds.