K-5 Field Trips and Overnights

Gateway learning is rich and full of vitality. Outdoor explorations and class field trips add hands-on experience to all areas of the curriculum and provide real world context for student explorations. A trip to the San Lorenzo River, monthly visits to Its Beach, hiking at Point Lobos, apple-picking on Swanton Road, careful mapping of downtown buildings, and explorations of Elkhorn Slough inspire independence and appreciation for our culture and history. 4th graders take their first overnight field trip to Coloma, in the Gold Country, where they learn about California history by living the life of a gold miner. 5th graders experience the natural history of California on their multi-day overnight trip to the Marin Headlands camp, with field activities ranging from identifying plants with a naturalist to spotting nocturnal animals on a night hike.

Student Council

Our student Council meets once a month with student representatives from 2nd-8th grade. Student-led meetings are fostered under the guidance of faculty advisers. The student-body Presidents and officers (elected from the Middle School) run the meetings which address planning for various school events (e.g., Poetry and Dessert contests, Spirit days), discussion of school issues or concerns, and planning for school-wide support for local or international needs (collecting coats for local needy children or raising money for the international Red Cross to help tsunami survivors, etc..) . The student council gives even young students a voice in impacting school-wide issues and provides leadership opportunities for older students.

Clubs

Garden
3rd-8th grade students have an opportunity to join the Garden Club which meets during lunch recess in our award-winning, one-quarter acre Life Lab Garden.  Students may cultivate a garden on their own, in pairs or small groups.  Under the enthusiastic guidance of our Life Lab faculty, Caprice Potter, Garden Club members plan, plant and cultivate small plots in the garden.  Not only does this offer our students an alternative to the playground, it also allows them to deepen their connection to the natural world, to gardening, to the Life Lab science concepts, and gives real-life practice in cooperation and communication skills as they work with other students in the garden.

Library
The Library Club gives students in grades four and five the opportunity to volunteer in the library. Members meet once a week to help with library duties or prepare special events such as the annual Book Fair.

Gateway students have also formed other independent clubs that focus on activities such as surfing, mountain biking, snowboarding and skiing.