The Great Outdoors

We had a great start to the school year, beginning with newly forged and reinvigorated connections at the camp trip and continuing through our first day of classes at the school. I hope that you are feeling the same excitement and energy of the new school year that I am.

            Our camp trip is a required student and parent event for many reasons. All of us at the camp trip, young and older, experienced the sense of coming together in the larger family that constitutes the school. This sense of belonging is a key element in student success, both academic and social-emotional. The academic program began as well during the camp trip, as faculty introduced the students to their Native American tribes. The opportunity to learn in the beautiful outdoor setting of the campsite was an important first academic step of the year, and the students’ presentations to their parents showed how much they had learned in a short period of time.

            Outdoor education experiences like our camp trip have been studied by many groups, and a recent study by the National Wildlife Federation summarizes the important positive effects they have on student learning. The September 2010 report, Back to School: Back Outside, makes it clear that outdoor education helps children develop a full-range of integrated learning strategies and skill sets that will remain with them throughout their lives. The study even found that outdoor education experiences raised standardized test scores. As we were able to observe at the camp trip, these experiences also increase student motivation and excitement about learning. Whiteman Primary requires the fall camp trip for all these reasons, but also simply because it is a very enjoyable way to get to know and/or reconnect with other families.

            As the year progresses, the students will have many more opportunities to work and play in the outdoors, but none of them will be as important as the kick-off camp trip with their families that we just experienced. Thank you all for your participation in your child’s first days of school. Together, we’ve sown the seeds for a fantastic 2011-12 school year!