Service work and adventure in 8th grade

How our class of Waldorf 8th graders bond, laugh, learn

“The 8th grade was quite busy last week engaging in service work and adventure,” writes teacher Rising Percey, who led the Class of 2024 on a series of field trips and learning projects across the Bay Area last week. 

On Monday, the group participated in a service project at Lake Merritt in Oakland and camped overnight at Lake Chabot in Alameda County. On Tuesday, they headed off to volunteer at the Alameda Food Bank, followed by a sailing trip in Sausalito on Wednesday. On Thursday, the class spent the day at Green Gulch Zen Center in Mill Valley, learning more about this unique community and helping to harvest food for donation to the SF-Marin Food Bank. They concluded the week in Richmond at the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front museum, jump-starting the American history curriculum.

“I always like to start the year with camping and plenty of time outdoors to bond, laugh, learn experientially—and get at least a little dirty,” says Ms. Percey. And the class of 2024 did just that! 

Over five days, the 8th grade class:

  • Picked up 20 buckets of trash at Lake Merritt.

  • Painted, played, and hammered at Adventure Playground in Berkeley.

  • Camped at Lake Chabot.

  • Helped pack hundreds of food boxes and meals at the Alameda County Community Food Bank.

  • Visited the Port of Oakland (as a part of our studies of World Economic Geography)

  • Harvested 25 boxes of fresh vegetables at the Green Gulch Zen Center to be donated to the Marin Food Bank.

  • Meditated in the Zen Center’s Zendo. (Thank you to MWS 3rd-4th grade parent Steph Blank for guiding the day!)

  • Visited Rosie the Riveter WW II Home Front museum and national park in Richmond.

  • Ended the week climbing, swimming, and playing at Point San Pablo Marina.

“We are now fully immersed in the school year and ready to focus,” says Ms. Percey. “I am so grateful that Waldorf education encourages us to learn in this way, to be adventurous, and to be of service to our greater community. We built connections with each other and with the world that will stay with us forever.”

See more photos of their amazing adventures below!

Middle School, Field TripsJulie Meade