Middle School Outdoor Education

The power of outdoor education lies in the variety and beauty of its “classroom.” In taking students away from the stresses and habits of their daily lives and bringing them into an environment they don't know, we have the ability to develop in them new skills and behaviors. We are also permitted to emphasize the skills and value of creating a supportive and safe community in which people work together. These skills and habits learned in the outdoors are transferable to school and home life.

Through our outdoor program, students are also given a good start on activities they can do recreationally for the rest of their lives. And they learn about nature and how to enjoy it responsibly—making them conscious of their roles in preserving our most valuable resource. In an outdoor setting, we discover rich opportunities for multidisciplinary teaching and learning. Perhaps most important, our outdoor trips allow students to gain self-esteem, confidence, and independence.

Our outdoor education program starts in 5th grade and continues through 8th grade. When students move to the Upper School, they are well prepared to complete their outdoor course, which is a graduation requirement.

(See bottom of page for specifics on trip dates, activities, and locations.)

Middle school trips in 2008-2009 will include:

5th Grade:

Fall: In September, the students participate in a day outing to Carkeek Park, where they hike, play games; even perform a Service to the environment.

In the fourth week of school, the whole class travels to a local salt water park where we explore the beach and have field games. At the end of the school year, we travel to a Washington State park, camp in tents and prepare meals family style. As preparation for the overnight students learn to set up tents, plan meals for a big group and brainstorm ways to include everyone in group activities.

6th Grade:

All students spend a day of hiking in various areas in closer proximity to the city. They have the opportunity to learn about the natural environment they travel through, and they practice teambuilding. At the end of their experience, the students process their experience through period of reflection

7th Grade:

During May the students camp and beach hike on the Olympic Peninsula or participate in other outdoor activities such as fly-fishing sea kayaking or hiking.

During the school year, a First Aid course is offered where the students learn about accident prevention as well as what to do should an accident occur.

8th Grade:

In the spring, students participate in a four-day outdoor education program on the Olympic Peninsula, where they backpack and camp either on the beach or on one of the valley trails. Typically, the section of the Olympic coast for 8th grade Outdoor program is different from the section they may have done in 7th grade.

Most of the outdoor programs involve camping. The seventh and eighth grade programs involve backpacking and tenting.

All programs stress minimum impact adventuring. The students work together as a team, do their own cooking, learn to use new equipment and engage in team building activities, as well as in studying natural history. They acquire new skills such as kayaking, backpacking, and navigation.

In addition, they develop new habits, while creating physically and emotionally safe and supportive environments and learning to work together as a Team.

Throughout the school year, teachers from all grades take their classes outside for sessions of problem-solving and cooperative games with the goal of developing intellectually capable students with creative minds and healthy bodies.

Grade Level	Trip Dates	Activities	Location
5th Grade	September 26 2008 June 2-3 2009	Day trip Beach hikes, camping	Carkeek Park Whidbey Island
6th Grade	May 8 2009	Day of hiking	Various locations in local mountains
7th Grade	May 19--22, 2009	Beach hiking, canoeing, marine biology, fly fishing, sea kayaking	Eastern Washington, San Juan Islands, Olympic Peninsula
8th Grade	June 2-6, 2009	Backpacking, Sea kayaking	Olympic Peninsula