Thanks to a hard-working crew of dedicated staff members led by Ben Brock, our students in Grades 7 – 12 hit the road this morning for the annual three day backpacking trips in which groups head to lakes in the Sawtooth, White Cloud, and Salmon River Mountains.
Whether the kids and adults are rafting or backpacking, there are wonderful benefits of these outdoor adventure:
* First hand experience with outdoor ethics associated with Leave No Trace
* Boosts in self-confidence gained from overcoming challenges of paddling white water rapids, crossing a log bridge, or carrying a backpack for more miles than thought possible
* Experiencing teamwork as a result of sharing the responsibilities of cooking, carrying group supplies, paddling through rapids, and encouraging classmates
* Building community across grade levels, amongst staff, and amongst parents.
All of this enhances their daily classroom setting in which students support each other, are comfortable learning alongside and working with classmates, and take risks while learning.
This year, students were given the option to choose a traditional trip format or a themed trip. The themed trips include practicing yoga, mountain biking, “the long walk” in which the groups will follow a looping route and travel 20-25 miles over the three days, and fly fishing. We will be sure to share feedback from the students and leaders on these new type of trips.
Our Grade 6 Fall trip will be taking place Sept 12-16 in which they will travel to Yellowstone National Park. Their trip, which was moved to the fall last year in order to allow for better access to scientific inquiry and better weather at Yellowstone than in the spring, relates to their classroom curriculum. We look forward to sharing more about the trips soon – stay tuned!
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