Tuesday, January 28th, 2025

Ellie Beyers & Moriah Buckley Fernández

Can you make water glow and sparkle like fireworks underwater? Join us the day before Lunar New Year for an evening kayaking trip in Tomales Bay to experience bioluminescence (glowing green dinoflagellates)! We’ll depart at 3:30 pm (after C block class), eat a substantial snack on the way, and before embarking on our three-hour paddle. After our paddle, we’ll eat a burrito dinner and arrive back at MA around 10 pm.

It’s worth noting that everyone will need to be prepared with warm layers, including hats and gloves, plus a change of clothes for the ride home if you get wet. You can borrow items from the Outings gear room, and the kayaking organization will provide splash jackets and splash skirts. 

For those students who receive Tuition Assistance, outing costs will be covered according to your Tuition Assistance Award percentage.

*because this trip runs so quickly after the catalog is released, please reach out to Ellie directly if you'd like to join.*

14 students

Cost: $300

PE Points

Fridays January 31st, February 7th, February, 21st, March 7th, March 21st, and March 28th

Tania Bettis and a rotating cast of co-leaders

Come spend the afternoon in the garden and make the space your own- plant a few seedlings, weed some spaces, turn some soil, then relax and enjoy a snack with good company in a beautiful space. Studies show that contact with soil (and particularly a special bacteria in the soil) causes a release of serotonin in the brain, improving mood and wellbeing and you will be giving back to our community in a wonderful way. This is an outing series with a total of 9 possible Fridays. Signing up allows you to attend any number of them and each day you attend will earn you PE Points. We will head up to the garden 15 minutes after the end of the school day and then wrap up around 5 pm.

20 students

Free

PE Points

February 5th

Leslie Beach and Gabby Sosa

Several of us headed up to Carson Falls in November, right before the rains started, to take a look at the flow and get a sense of what the end of the dry season looked like this year. Now we’re going back to see what the rains have done! Join us again if you came in November, or come for the first time– a waterfall hike is always worthwhile. We’ll meet right after school in the circle, drive up to the trailhead by Azalea Hill in Fairfax, hike for under 4 miles, enjoy some panoramic views and charismatic rocks, potentially catch an epic sunset, and get back to MA around 6 pm. 

8 students

Free

PE Points

Liz Gottlieb and Russ Thibeault

Friday, February 7th

Join Liz & Russ Thibeault as we explore the fascinating world of fungi.  On this outing, students will hike 3 to 4 miles through Mt. Tamalpais’s water district; Cataract falls (Depends on weather & fungi 🍄conditions!).  Students will learn basic mushroom terminology, collecting techniques, ID methods, spore prints and much more on this outing.  Students interested in fungi, hiking, ecology, natural history, or photography would enjoy this outing!  

We will leave school at 12:45 and return to MA at 4:45  pm. Bring comfortable hiking shoes/sneakers, water bottle, your lunch, a phone (to take photos and upload to inaturalist), a rain jacket and layers.  The leaders will bring snacks & field gear.

6 to 15 students

Free

PE Points

Monday, February 10th

Noah Orgish and Ellie Beyers

Join us on an afternoon climbing adventure at Gravity Vault Marin, the indoor climbing wall in San Rafael. Whether you are an experienced climber or are brand-new to climbing, this outing can work for you! We will meet in the MA circle at 2:45 pm and return to MA in time for those wishing to catch the last bus. Bring water, a snack, and comfortable clothes for climbing.

For those students who receive Tuition Assistance, outing costs will be covered according to your Tuition Assistance Award percentage.

8 students

$45

PE Points

Saturday, February 22nd

Pamela Wong Shoebottom and Bre DeGiammarino

Cutting-edge international dance company Batsheva comes to Berkeley to perform a new contemporary dance show called MOMO by Artistic Director Ohad Naharin. MADCO dance students will be attending, and we welcome students from the full MA community to join us!

For those students who receive Tuition Assistance, outing costs will be covered according to your Tuition Assistance Award percentage.

27 students

$50

Saturday, February 22

contact Juliet Dana with questions

This day-long gathering is run by the same team who developed the Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC). Hosted at the Harker School in San Jose, join fellow student leaders from around the Bay Area who want to talk about identity, leadership, equity, and justice. Open to students of all racial identities, this conference centers the experiences of BIPOC students in independent schools and is designed for any student who wants to think about their own identity and their own capacity to create change in their world. Dr. Rodney Glasgow is a nationally-renowned school leader and social justice leader, and his team organizes meaningful, impactful, and inspiring student-centered events. This leadership gathering is not to be missed. If you want to talk to MA students who attended the SDLG and/or SDLC in the past, reach out to Juliet Dana who can put you in touch. Meet at MA at 6:30am for the drive to San Jose (you can nap on the bus!), attend the workshop at Harker School from 8-4pm, and debrief with dinner before heading back to Marin. Home by 8pm. It's a long but affirming day. All meals and transportation provided. 

8 Students

Free

February 28th-March 1st

contact Juliet Dana with questions

Join fellow Latine student leaders from around the Bay Area for a 2-day summit designed to empower Latiné high school students and educators by providing a space for leadership development, identity exploration, appreciation of various forms of Latiné cultural expressions, and solidarity. Held in San José, the first day of the summit runs from late afternoon to evening (leave Marin around 1pm on the last day of minicourse). Day two is a full day. [For the full schedule, refer back to an email to all students sent on Jan 10 from Juliet.] Depending on interest, we can pursue an overnight stay in a hotel or going back and forth from Marin. On Saturday March 1, the summit ends at 8pm. It will be two full and affirming days! All meals and transportation provided. Affinity for Latine/latinx/Hispanic students. 

8 students

Free

Thursday, March 6th

Juliet Dana and Joe Cornett

Join us on an afternoon climbing adventure at Gravity Vault Marin, the indoor climbing wall in San Rafael. Whether you are an experienced climber or are brand-new to climbing, this outing can work for you! We will leave the MA circle at 2:45 pm and return to MA in time for those wishing to catch the last bus. Bring water, a snack, and comfortable clothes for climbing. We will rent harnesses and shoes unless you have your own you want to bring! 

For those students who receive Tuition Assistance, outing costs will be covered according to your Tuition Assistance Award percentage.

8 students

$45

PE Points

Saturday, March 8th

Leslie Beach ‘04 and Gabby Sosa

Spend an early spring day wandering around beautiful Angel Island! We’ll meet at MA at 10:15 am and head to Tiburon to catch the ferry. We’ll hike around the island, visiting beaches, climbing the hill for epic views, and spending some time in the excellent immigration museum, learning about California history in its immersive exhibits. Along the way, we’ll fortify ourselves with tasty snacks and a picnic lunch. We’ll take the 3:20 ferry and be back to MA at around 4 pm.

For those students who receive Tuition Assistance, outing costs will be covered according to your Tuition Assistance Award percentage. 

8 students

$40

PE Points

Richard Masland and a rotating cast of second leaders

Mondays, March 10th, 17th, 24th, and 31st

Maker Monday is an open invitation to dive into hands-on creativity and collaboration in the Design Lab! Fabrication spaces will open into a hub for student-driven projects, where you can help complete the wooden boat that will begin on minicourse, tinker with robotics, or explore new maker ideas. Whether you’re hopping in on an open, collaborative project, working on getting certified on new tools, or prototyping something new, Maker Monday provides the time, tools, and space to get your ideas ready for deployment in the real world.

Student limit: 8 per session

Free

Thursday, March 13th

Leslie Beach ‘04 and Sayed Azimi

Art about art… what a great way to spend the Thursday before a 4 day weekend. Shotgun Players in Berkeley will be putting on the play “Art” by Yasmina Reza, featuring MA’s own theater teacher and Performing Arts chair David Sinaiko! 

About the play: “A long friendship between three men implodes when one purchases an expensive piece of modern art. What is it all worth? Winner of the Tony Award for Best Play, Art is well known for its celebrated wordplay. Under the direction of Emilie Whelan, however, we’re also champing at the bit to unleash the raw, primal humanity at its core.” (from the Shotgun Players website)

About our plan: we’ll meet at MA at 6, head to Berkeley for some tasty pre-show dinner, and enjoy the show. We’ll be back to MA at around 11.

For those students who receive Tuition Assistance, outing costs will be covered according to your Tuition Assistance Award percentage.

7 Students

$50

Friday, March 14th

Jon Bretan and Stella Beale

Get your no-school Friday off to an epic start. ​​We will meet at MA at 5:30 and drive to the Windy Ridge trailhead in Kentfield and head up one of the most direct routes to the summit of Mt Tamalpais, and we hope to reach the top just before sunrise at 7 am. We will head back down a less steep route, for an approximately 5-mile round trip. We should return to MA by 9 a.m. 

8 Students

Free

PE Points

Friday, March 14th

Noah Orgish and Leslie Beach ‘04

Spring is a fabulous time to visit some of our charismatic creature neighbors in Point Reyes. On this no-school Friday, we’ll meet at MA at 9am and head west to the outer point. Destinations may include Drake’s Beach and the Historic Lifeboat Station to see elephant seals– right on the verge between the mating/birthing season and the molting season– and Pierce Point Ranch to track down some tule elk. Wildflowers, ocean views, and a healthy blend of van time and hiking will all add to the magic. We’ll bring snacks and sandwiches for lunch, and possibly stop for a baked treat or water buffalo soft serve on our way home, getting back to MA by 5 at the latest.

For those students who receive Tuition Assistance, outing costs will be covered according to your Tuition Assistance Award percentage.

8 students

$20

PE Points

Sunday-Monday March 23rd- 24th

Liz Gottlieb & Yinshun Wang

Are you up for a local, weekend intro to backpacking- cabin adventure?  The West Point Inn cabins are perched on the western side of Mt. Tamalpais.   Each cabin has a deck looking out on the San Francisco Bay, the ocean and surrounding hills. Participants will hike up Old Stage road trail (an unpaved 2.25 mile gradual (200 feet elevation total) road) to the Inn on Sunday afternoon.  We will stay in rustic cabins (there are mattresses & quilts but you need to bring a sleeping bag) with no electricity or heat.  There is a full sized kitchen and refrigerator in the main lodge for all to use.  There will be plenty of potential activities to explore if you go on this outing; the history of the West Point Inn, hiking to the top of Mt. Tamalpais, playing card games on the wrap around porch of the West Point Inn, photography galore & more. 

For those students who receive Tuition Assistance, outing costs will be covered according to your Tuition Assistance Award percentage.

8 students

$125 -$150

PE Points

Monday, March 31st

Juliet Dana, Tania Bettis, and Leslie Beach ‘04

Wilderness Quest is a program with a long history at MA, and this evening in the garden will help weave past, present, and future together. If you’ve been on a quest before, come to this space as a reunion and way to touch in with other members of the community who’ve also had this experience. If you haven’t yet but questing intrigues you, this is a great opportunity to get a taste and learn more. We’ll spend some time sharing stories and intentions, remembering our experiences or imagining the possibilities, sharing a tasty dinner, and possibly giving back to this community with a little garden work, too, if time allows. We’ll meet from 5-7.

For those students who receive Tuition Assistance, outing costs will be covered according to your Tuition Assistance Award percentage.

16 students

$15

Sunday-Tuesday April 6th-8th

Tania Bettis and Leslie Beach ‘04

Start your spring break off with a fun coastal outing! We will be car camping at Sunset Beach for two nights. During the days we will head out to various coastal locations to explore the biodiversity of California's central coast. One day will include a trip to Point Lobos for some epic tidepooling and some hikes through rolling coastal trails, another may include a hike to a beach with purple sand, and even a whale watching trip. Students in the advanced biology course will be given priority for this trip, but there will be room for other students to join. 

For those students who receive Tuition Assistance, outing costs will be covered according to your Tuition Assistance Award percentage.

18 Students

$240

PE Points