On-Campus Immersive Opportunities
2025-2026
Arts Abound!
Grade: 5
Get excited for a fun week of creativity and self-expression through diverse art forms! We will dive into the world of culinary arts by learning to prepare delicious dishes, discover the excitement of circus arts through juggling and acrobatics, and unleash our musical talents in a dynamic songwriting class. We will also build confidence and focus with an introduction to martial arts. This hands-on experience celebrates the power of art in all its forms, fostering creativity, collaboration, and a sense of achievement. Please reach out to Ms. Tomich with any questions.
Science & Community in Nature at Camp Coleman
Grade: 6
Join us for the 6th Grade Expedition at Camp Colman, situated on the Key Peninsula, just over an hour from Seattle. Nestled at the foothills of the majestic Olympic Mountains on Case Inlet, this remarkable learning space spans over 100 acres, featuring a half-mile of Puget Sound beachfront with Cascade Mountain views, a six-acre lagoon, an expansive lodge, and charming evergreen cabins. This unique experience, guided by Forest Ridge Upper School mentors, enhances our 6th-grade academic, advisory, and socialemotional programs while offering boundless fun in an extraordinary natural setting. Please reach out to Ms. Travis with any questions.
Seattle Sports Grades
7-8
Get ready to move, explore, and have fun in Seattle Sports Immersive, a week filled with adventure that gets you out of the classroom and into the action! During this experience, you’ll get to try all kinds of exciting activities around the Seattle area — from bowling and exploring the beautiful UW campus, to climbing at the Seattle Bouldering Project. We’ll lace up our skates for some fun at the Sno-King Ice Rink in Renton, and head outdoors for hiking at Rattlesnake Lake Park and a visit to the stunning Snoqualmie Falls. If the schedule lines up, we’ll even cheer on the Mariners at T-Mobile Park for a real Seattle baseball experience! Whether you’re a total beginner or already love sports, this is your chance to challenge yourself, try something new, and discover how awesome being active can be. Please reach out to Mr. Tower with any questions.
Creating Public Art
Grades: 7-12
Join us for a fun week creating public art for the Rainier Valley Food Bank! We’ll start with a site visit and tour to learn about the Food Bank’s mission, then return to campus to design and create hangable outdoor murals for their community garden. Throughout the week, you’ll engage in meaningful artmaking, painting ceramic plates, collaborating on mural designs, and taking off-campus trips to meet and learn from local artists. Please reach out to Ms. Bass and Ms. Gould with any questions.
Grades: 7-12
Join us in an active and innovative week where we immerse ourselves in what it means to care for creation and get our hands dirty! A primary goal for the week is to become more aware of our natural resources (soil, water, sunlight and native plants) and learn to be good stewards here in our campus garden and forest spaces. We will explore the science of gardening through natural soil amendments, companion planting, monitoring solar impact, and water filtering and conservation. We also want to take time to appreciate the beauty and peace that gardens provide and inspire in our lives. Participants will learn more about the art of flower arrangement, garden art and water features, as well as having time for nature drawings. Our adventures off campus will include field trips to Bellevue Botanical Garden, Seattle Arboretum, a visit to a local nursery and community gardens, and explorations of nearby greenbelt spaces. We’ll be sure to spend time working, reflecting, and creating outside as much as possible. Come be the inspiration behind the 2nd season of our Forest Ridge Garden! Please reach out to Ms. Waltner and Ms. Konek with any questions.
Sustainable Seattle
Grades: 7-12
Seattle is known for being one of the greenest and most sustainability-focused cities in the country, and in this Immersive, you’ll get to explore what makes it so unique. Sustainable Seattle takes you out into the greater Seattle area to talk with people doing on-the-ground sustainability work, and to take part in activities that reveal how our food, land, and neighborhoods are supported. You’ll also examine sustainability right here at Forest Ridge by evaluating one aspect of our campus and proposing a practical idea to make our school more environmentally friendly. By the end, you’ll have a clearer understanding of how Seattle—and Forest Ridge—can build a more sustainable future and what role you can play in it. Please reach out to Ms. Rahmig with any questions.
Write a Fiction Novella Grades: 7-12
Less than 0.1% of the world’s population has written a book, and just one book can change the course of someone’s life. Join the ranks of Brandon Sanderson (Tress of the Emerald Sea), Marissa Meyer (The Lunar Chronicles series). Stephen King, and Tahereh Mafi (Shatter Me series), and make your mark on the world by writing a novella. A novella is a story between 7,500 and 40,000 words long. In this course, you’ll learn the basics of story structure, character development, and compelling dialogue through bite-sized lessons, but most of the time you’ll be left alone to write. We’ll visit a few places around the Seattle area with the perfect vibe for focused writing. At the end, you can proudly say, “I wrote a book.” Please reach out to Ms. Witcher with any questions.
Chinese Culture, Food, and Arts
Grades: 8-12
This course will give students the opportunity to explore Chinese culture, history, cuisine, calligraphy, traditional painting, art, and more through multiple lenses. Students will take initiative in developing topics of interest to research with the support and guidance of their supervisor. They will also engage in hands-on experiences that deepen their understanding of Chinese culture in all areas. The weeklong immersive also includes a field trip to the neighborhood T & T Market, a food tasting at a dim sum restaurant, and a hands-on dumplingmaking experience. No Mandarin is needed for this course. Please reach out to Ms. Li and Ms. Yang with any questions.
So, you want to make a Zine?
Grades: 9-12
If you have a passion that you wish more people knew about or understood better and you like to be creative with words and images, you want to make a Zine! A zine (pronounced “zeen”) is a small, self-published booklet created by an individual or small group, often for personal expression and community connection. Zines cover a vast range of topics, including art, activism, fandoms, personal stories, and specific hobbies. During this immersive we will view the special collection of Zines at Seattle’s Central Library, learn how to use a Riso printer at a studio downtown, visit some local Seattle book and stationary supply stores that carry Zines by local artists, explore the history and impact of Zines through documentaries, a viewing of the film Moxie, and hearing from one or more local Zine creators. Additionally, we will spend quite a bit of time making our own Zine using a variety of offline materials like pen, paper, glue, needles, thread, photographs, and various other supplies. You can choose if you’d like to donate your Zine to the Central Library collection, keep it, or share it with the world in some other way. Please reach out to Ms. Gareis with any questions.
The Great Escape: The Story of Exodus
Grades: 9-12
In this course, students will dive into the dramatic story of the Book of Exodus, one of the most influential texts in world history. Through close reading, discussion, art, and reflection, students will explore major themes such as liberation, faith, leadership, justice, and covenant. We will examine the experiences of Moses and the Israelites, from their enslavement in Egypt to their journey toward the Promised Land and consider how the Exodus story continues to inspire movements for freedom and faith today. Please reach out to Ms. McCartney with any questions.
Innovation Adventure Week
Grades: 9-12
STEM Immersion Week invites students to explore innovation through handson experiences, tech field trips, and creative challenges. Throughout the week, students will visit leading tech organizations, experiment with emerging technologies in the Innovation Lab, and engage in activities focused on flight, robotics, design, and immersive environments. The week concludes with a student-designed project. Please reach out to Mr. Delgado with any questions.
Cursed Classics of Horror
Grades: 10-12
Horror films are crafted to scare, shock, disturb, unsettle, unnerve, and haunt us. But some horror classics are rumored to be haunted--or rather, cursed-themselves. On-set injuries, freak accidents, personal tragedies, and early deaths among cast and crew have become part of the lore surrounding these cursed classics. In this immersive course, we will watch, analyze, and explore the history and lore surrounding four classic horror films rumored to be cursed: Poltergeist (1982), Rosemary’s Baby (1968), The Omen (1976), and The Exorcist (1973). Please reach out to Ms. Stewart or Ms. Guerin with any questions.
Scentsational Seminar: The Art, Science, and Business of Fine Fragrance
Grades: 9-12
In this course, you’ll try your hand (and your nose) at developing a consumerworthy fragrance, learning the ins-and-outs of perfumery chemistry, business, and marketing. Get informed about the science of fragrance with Ms. Stanevich: how do you increase the longevity or sillage of your perfume? Learn how to model your brand and business with the financial savvy of Ms. Barnes, including how to stand out amidst competitors and turn your spritz into profits. Hone your descriptive skills and film production prowess alongside Ms. K-S, developing language for an ad campaign to sell your fragrance, with a bottle designed uniquely by you. If all this sounds good to you... we hope to see you at our perfume counter this spring. Please reach out to Ms. Stanevich, Ms. K-S, or Ms. Barnes with any questions.