Excursions
Our excursions are outside-the-classroom experiences where our students go places together and live Kehillah’s four commitments. From our all-school opening retreat (Kinnus) to our all-school Community Service Day, to each of our grade-level trips, excursions are the highlights of the year. Each excursion includes the Kehillah Service Learning Initiative, which helps students become citizens of the world who are socially aware and engaged, who desire and work for a more just and kind world, with their actions guided by compassion, critical thinking, and Jewish values.
Kinnus (All-School Retreat)
The first days of the school year are dedicated to Kinnus, an all-school retreat. Kinnus means gathering in Hebrew. The days of Kinnus are focused on welcoming new students, bonding, games, and school spirit! Students will meet teachers, connect with peers in different grades, and form lasting bonds with their classmates in this fun-filled start of school. One evening is devoted to a local, senior class overnight.
Kehillah Community Service Day
The first Friday of the school year is dedicated to a community-wide Community Service Day. This is the day we all give back to our community with service learning opportunities at food banks, homeless shelters, warehouses, parks, and more throughout Bay Area.
Class Trips
Every spring, each grade takes a unique educational trip. The four-year grade-level trip curriculum builds on our academic program through direct experience and exposure to diverse communities with an emphasis on students taking responsibility for their own learning.
9th Grade Class Trip to San Francisco
Visit the Women’s Building, an art-covered non-profit center for disenfranchised women.
Tour the vibrant street art that decorates the Mission
Visit a non-profit organization that focuses on education for under-resourced children
Shop at social enterprising thrift stores
Volunteer on the farm with Urban Adamah
Cook and learn with the Edible Schoolyard Project
Prepare and cook meals for the homeless and pack harm reduction kits with GLIDE
Take a “woke” tour of the Tenderloin District
Pajama party screening of the film “Milk”
Walking tour of the Castro district visiting multiple organizations that serve the needs of the city’s LGBTQ+ population
Commemorate the LGBTQ+ lives lost in World War II
10th Grade Class Trip to Los Angeles
Hike in Griffith Park to see the Hollywood sign
Play in a drum circle
Tour the historic Wilshire Boulevard Temple
Observe a panel discussion on tolerance and social justice at the LA Museum of the Holocaust
Bake challah with a Shoah (Holocaust) survivor
See a comedy show
Take a gentrification tour of Downtown LA
Visit the Broad Museum of Modern Art
Volunteer at the Pico Union Project
Create portrait art led by a Mexican immigrant artist, Hedy Torres
Sing in a karaoke session with the homeless residents of Skid Row
Tour Homeboy Industries
Visit Safe Place for Youth, a homeless teen drop-in center
Have fun on Venice Beach
Eat a delicious Israeli food banquet
End the trip with a farewell campfire at the famous Dockweiler Beach
11th Grade Class Trip to Israel
(2/19/19 – 3/7/19)
Encounters with Israelis from a variety of backgrounds
Hiking Maktesh HaGadol
Floating in the Dead Sea
Shabbat at the Kotel in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv
Service Learning opportunities with Leket, Yad Sarah, Save a Child’s Heart, and World Emunah
Camel riding
Delicious dinners in a Bedouin tent, Druze village, and at Dr. Shakshuka
Family and friend visit time
Geopolitical, graffiti and food walking tours
12th Grade Trip to Portland, Oregon
(3/3/19 – 3/8/19)
Hiking near Multnomah Falls
Meet with teens from Outside the Frame
Visit Powell’s books and other Portland landmarks
Meet with Tivnu Gap Year Fellows
Participate in late night food banks
Fun in the snow on Mt. Hood
2017-18 Excursion Service Learning Highlights
