Students looking to take a break from school can savor a day at the beach while the their peers go about their usual schedules. For the third year in a row, teacher Scott Callisch is organizing an Adventure P.E. surfing trip to Cowells Beach in Santa Cruz, Sept. 18.

This recreational field-trip gives students the opportunity to get out of school and participate in an extreme sport. Those who wish to attend the trip must sign up in the high school office and pay the $35 fee. Students who are currently involved in a sport are not eligible to attend.

The group will meet in front of the gym at 8 a.m. to drive to the beach and return at about 8 p.m.

A group of professional instructors will be waiting on the beach ready to teach the students how to surf. After getting in wet-suits and climbing on the boards, they will try their hand at the sport.

“If you want to be cool, hip, now and happening, you need to go on this trip,” Callisch said. “Everyone around the world thinks people who live in California surf, and we should live up to their expectation.”

This day-long trip allows the inexperienced as well as the expert to come and try surfing. Paige Powell, ’10, attended the same trip last year, where she learned to surf for the first time.

“I always wanted to go surfing,” Powell said. “Adventure P.E. opened up the opportunity for me to try it out. The surfing instructors taught me how to paddle, and I eventually was able to catch a wave. It was a neat experience.”

Students who attend the trip will be taught by Club Ed, a team of surfing instructors. Club Ed teaches the basics of surfing in a hands-on way where everyone can participate, according its Web site.

Another first-time surfer, Josh Hopper, ’12, said he enjoyed the jaunt last year.

“It was awesome to be out there and catch a wave,” Hopper said. “I always thought surfing was something cool people did, but then I did it and I felt great.”

According to Callisch, everyone who has attended the trip has been able to get up on their board and catch a wave. The only thing that holds people back from trying surfing is fear, he said.

“People need to overcome their fear of the unknown,” Callisch said. “They have to challenge themselves and be more than they can be.”

Adventure PE: Surfing ’09 from Austin Rurik on Vimeo.

For more information, e-mail Callisch or visit the Sept. 24, 2008, article, Surf trip launches Adventure P.E.