Instead of going to classes on the third day of school, students petted wolves, raced go-karts, climbed ropes and swam in the ocean. Students from grades six to 10 attended annual Fall Outing trips Friday, Aug. 25, where they participated in grade bonding activities in Los Angeles’ nature scene. Juniors went backpacking Aug. 25-Sept. 1 throughout the Wind River Range in Lander, Wyoming, for their last Arrow Week, and seniors went on an overnight trip to Big Bear.
For the Class of 2026’s final Fall Outing, the students traveled to Leo Carillo Beach to work with Wolf Tribe Official, an organization dedicated to teaching leadership skills by observing wolves’ behaviors and mannerisms. At the beach, students played team bonding games, ate lunch on the rocks by the water and swam.
In recent years, Fall Outing took place before the school year instead of within the first week. Sophomore Darian Weiss said the change in the trip’s timing allowed for bonding with her grade without the pressure of summer work or regular schoolwork.
“’I’m personally used to having Fall Outing … before orientation or the first day of classes, but I thought this was nice to have a little bit of a break from our classes,” Weiss said. “To just have three days straight of classes and then be able to bond more with my grade … I thought that was actually really nice, and I ended up enjoying it.”
Sixth grade traveled to Franklin Canyon Park in Beverly Hills, where students participated in teambuilding activities such as name games. The grade also went hiking and saw animals, including ducks and turtles. Sixth grader Lily Bishton Kraus said, through the games, she began feeling comfortable around her new classmates.
“It felt like the mood shifted from … ‘I don’t know this person or this person or anyone here’ to more of just what I feel like would be a regular school day and [helped] transition. I really like that,” Bishton Kraus said.
Seventh grade went to Camp Gilmore in Calabasas, where they climbed a high ropes course and engaged in team bonding exercises. At the eighth and ninth grade Fall Outings, students also worked with Wolf Tribe Official and experienced in-person contact with wolves, as the organization is also a wolf rescue.
“I think it’s a nice way to reintroduce socially because I know, in the summer, I don’t talk to that many people,” Chi said. “So before being thrown into school where I have to talk to teachers and other students, it is nice that we just have a small or medium-ish group that we can talk to and be like, ‘How’s your summer?’”
Bishton Kraus said, though attending Archer is a different experience than being in fifth grade, she has begun to ease into the school, thanks to Fall Outing.
“At the start, the school felt like a labyrinth, but now it feels really comfortable,” Bishton Kraus said. “Everyone is here to point me in the right direction of where my classes are. Now, I feel like friend groups are starting — like who we’re eating with, what discussions we’re having, how we like the classes and which ones are our favorites, and it’s much more comfortable.”
