EveryoneiswelcometotheOutdoorProgram

Ourgoalasaschooliseducationinawidevarietyofcontentandskillareas,includinghowtoenjoythe outdoorsandhowtopursueoutdooractivitiesinasafeandfunmanner.Wedesigneverytriptoinclude studentsfromgrades6through12,andwedesigneachtriptobeofinteresttobothnovicesandthose alreadyexperiencedinthegivenactivity.Weactuallyencouragethismixasyetanotherwayofallowing studentstogettoknoweachotheracrossgradelevelsandasa meansoffosteringopportunitiesfor “peereducation”thatoccurwhenyoungerandolderstudentsandnovicesandthosewithmore experienceareenjoyingthesameoutdooractivity.Indeed,therearetimeswhenitisayoungerstudent whohasmoreexperienceand/orknowledgeaboutagivenactivitythananolderone,andthatisa great lessonforboth.

Orientingthe novicecamper

Tofacilitateandsupportyoungerand/orlessexperiencedstudentstoparticipateintheseoutdoor

activities,wehaveawidearrayofgearthatwecanloanout(packs,tents,sleepingbagsandpads,stoves, etc.)andwepostadetailedequipmentlistintheoutdoorsectionoftheschool’swebsite.Wemeet beforeeachtripandhelpstudentsgatherintofood,tent,andhikinggroupswhenenteringwildernessareasthatlimiteachpartyto12persons.Weobservewhichstudentsareforminggroupsandadviseas neededtomakesurenewerorlessexperiencedparticipantsarejoinedwithotherswhocanandwillbesupportive.Weaskaboutgearandmakesureeachparticipanteitherhasthegeartheyneedorwillbeborrowingwhattheyneedfromourextensivesupplies.Fortripsthatrequirepre‐tripinstruction–e.g., iglooandsnow‐cavebuilding,orkayakingsafety–weholdpre‐tripsessionstoprovidethattraining.

Food

Inourpre‐tripmeetings,weadviseon typesoffoodtoconsiderbothfornutritionalvalueandforeaseof preparation.Ontheovernighttrips,weusuallyshopforthefoodata grocerystoreonthewaytoour initialdestination,andfacultyareavailabletoconsultwithstudentsaboutfoodchoices.Inour experience,thefoodgroupsalmostalwaysmanagetoeatwell,learningfromonetriptothenextwhich foodchoicesworkbestfortheparticularactivityandsituation.

Campingand safety skills

Intermsoftheactualcamping,facultyarealwayspresenttohelpstudentswithtentset‐upandtogive

adviceaboutkeepinggear(andfood)dryandprotectedfromanimals.Finally,weteachtheactivities involvedinthatparticulartrip,beitbackpacking,kayaking,cycling,rockclimbing,skiing,snowshelter construction,etc.Thisteachingalwaysinvolvesboththeskillsandthesafetyandriskmanagement aspectsofthegivenactivity.

Responsible,caringsupervision

Weencourageyoutosendyoursonordaughteroutonatripandtrustthathe orshewillbeingood,

caring,andresponsiblehands,andthatothertripparticipants–bothfacultyandstudents– willbe availabletosupport,instruct,andbefriendthestudent(s)newtoeithertheprogramortothatkindof activity.Wehavehadanynumberofstudentsoverthe30‐plusyearsofrunningthisprogramjoinusas young(ornot‐so‐young)novicesandleavetheschoolwithgreatskillsandconfidencetoenjoythe outdoorsina varietyofwaysandunderalmostanyconditions.Wehavehada numberofveryyoung

and/orinexperiencedstudentsjoinourtripsthisyearandhaveagoodtimeevenastheylearnednew skills,madenewfriends,andweatheredavarietyofconditions.A numberofourgraduateshavegone ontobeoutdoortripparticipantsandleadersattheircollegesanduniversities.

Questions?

Ifyouhavequestionsorconcernsaboutsendingyourstudenton oneofthetrips,Iencourageyouto contactoneofthetripleaders,allofwhomarealsoteachersandatleastoneofwhomwilllikelybewell knowntothestudent(andviceversa),sincetheregularOutdoorLeadersincludeteachersfromacross

allgradesin bothdivisions.ThekeypersonstocontactwouldbeEricaBergamini,HerbBergamini, JeremyDeWitt,ReneeFredrickson,orGlenSterr.