The week of Sept. 15, Archer students and select faculty members went on the annual Fall Outing overnight retreat. Each class travels with their grade to various locations in Southern California—besides members of the junior class who venture to the Pasayten Wilderness with NOLS.

According to the Student Handbook, the outings allow students to “strengthen interpersonal bonds while developing leadership and communication in cooperative group settings” and provide an ideal “opportunity to help welcome and integrate new students into the Archer community.”

Rachel Pike ’17 said that during her grade’s trip to El Capitan State Beach, she spent the majority of her time “relaxing on the beach and jamming out around the campfire.”

Liadan Solomon ’17 added, “It helped me get to know people in the grade that I hadn’t really talked to before.”

Students new to the Archer community also reflected on their experiences in the wilderness. Aniyah Shirehjini ’21 loved “going on the beach and doing natural journals” but wanted to have slept “in a cabin instead of a tent… the wind was blowing very strongly.”

Maya Wernick ’18 wished she didn’t have “to walk a hundred miles to get food— that was a struggle,” she laughed.

The opportunities to bond with one’s grade are plentiful during Fall Outing. Both the senior and the sophomore classes went kayaking, while the freshmen and middle school classes all did “skits… lots of skits,” Wernick said.

Lily Gelman ’20 and Rae Godfredsen ’19 both agreed with a nod that their respective Fall Outings “brought them closer to the girls in their grade.”

ASB President and senior Camila Gazcon ’15 nostalgically commented in regard to her last Fall Outing: “[It was] an incredible way to bond with my sisters one last time. It’s weird to think that that was our last retreat together.”