On the first day of school at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, most Upper School students go to their classes and meet their new teachers — but not everyone. Every year, while 10th through 12th graders read over their syllabi and start getting back into the swing of things, all of the ninth graders leave civilization to embark upon a five-day backpacking expedition with the Philadelphia Outward Bound School.

"Outward Bound," as it's referred to at SCH, is a rite of passage for Upper Schoolers. Ninth graders do the trip with the people who will be in their advisory, which is a homeroom with the same classmates and advisor for all four years of Upper School. Each group is led by an experienced instructor from the Outward Bound organization, as well as a 12th grade student-leader from SCH who chose to go on the trip again as a mentor.

The groups take buses and vans to various hiking spots; this year advisories traveled to sites along the Appalachian Trail to start their adventures, either the Michaux State Forest near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, or the Delaware Water Gap in Bushkill, Pennsylvania.

On the trip, groups hike anywhere from 5 to 10 miles per day across a span of up to 10 hours. Each morning, members of the group are assigned different roles: The navigator maps out the day and makes decisions regarding what trails the group takes. H2-Overlords are in charge of filling group water bottles and making sure iodine is properly put into the water to keep it pure and safe. The First Mate plans breaks in the hiking and keeps the group entertained on the trail. It's their job to lead games and activities while the group is hiking. Finally, the Chefs decide when to eat, what to eat, and they have to cook and prepare the food for everyone.

The groups take periodic breaks while hiking, but the distance plus the heavy packs mean that everyone's exhausted by the time they get to the camp at night. No one even cares about the rocks under their tent or tarp. Everyone is just grateful to settle down and stop walking for the day.

Splitting the Outward Bound groups by advisory was a new change starting in 2022, with the class of 2026 (the current juniors). Matt Norcini, SCH's Head of Upper School, and the Outward Bound School of Philadelphia's new board chair, is also an advisor for a group of juniors. Norcini attested to the fact that the Outward Bound experience helped his advisory grow closer. "My advisory absolutely was tighter in ninth grade because of the experience," he said. "They had been put in an environment where ... the barriers broke down a bit. They connected, and they were invested in the future of the group together. And that's been pretty awesome. So I would say from the beginning, [Outward Bound] has made our community as an advisory much stronger."

Sage Palmer, a current SCH senior who helped lead a ninth grade group this year, "definitely" saw her group grow closer over the five days. "I really enjoyed my experience on my first Outward Bound trip," Sage said. "I'm very into camping and hiking, and I thought that [this year] I could share my love for the Outward Bound experience with the freshmen." Sage believes her fond memories of her own senior leader from ninth grade pushed her to apply for that position this year. Now, since the trip, Sage is a friendly face in the hallway for all who were in her group. "I see them all the time, and I always say hi, and they always say hi, too," Sage said.

Even for people not in the same group, the Outward Bound trip becomes a shared experience. Though few love it – it is long, difficult, and dirty, after all – everyone can find value in it.

Jude Small, a current ninth grader at SCH, certainly did. Like most incoming ninth graders do, Jude admitted that he had some serious apprehension prior to the trip. "I came into the experience thinking it would be impossible to sleep, food would be terrible, and the whole thing would be awkward," he said. By the end, Jude "felt resilient. I really learned that I can do something even if I don't think I can," he commented.

According to Matt Norcini, what Jude noticed is exactly what the trip is all about. Norcini said that after years of surveying ninth graders about their experience, he's received hundreds of responses that share Jude's sentiment: "I learned that I'm capable of so much more than I thought I was."

Norcini said that's what he hopes students walk away from Outward Bound with, a sense of empowerment and "a sense of like, 'I can do this, I know I can do this'" when they're faced with the inevitable challenges of Upper School and even life beyond.