Home Parent Circle Newsletter Classrooms Calendar Contact Us Guiding Principles  Academics  Meet Our Staff  School Tour  Photo Gallery  After School Clubs  Tuition  Forms  Info Pages  Wilderness Day  Shared School  Chuck Wagon  Christmas Play  Cascade Lodge  Ski Days  Hot Lunch  Wilderness Day Come prepared to be outside each week, whether we are on or off campus!     Active footwear     Sunscreen     Water bottles / lunch     Outerwear (click here for ideas)     Plan for the worst possible weather for the season.     K-1    Tuesday     2-4     Friday     5-6     Wednesday     7-8     One whole day/month -                date and place will vary   We believe that a great education includes an abundance of learning experiences outside of the classroom. We access a variety of local sources to make this happen including the forest service, Durango Nature Studies, the Audubon society, Project Wild and more. Currently, we are honored to have a partnership with the BOEP. (Bioregional Outdoor Education Project) Mr. Hughes and Mr. Andrew attended a summer workshop and have a wealth of ideas and projects to share.   Research tells us that outdoor education contributes toward higher achievement scores and results in more engaged learners in all areas. In addition, it contributes to our greatest goal - connecting kids with the Creator- by connecting children with creation. Being still in nature helps kids to slow down, to listen to that still, small voice of God. Within the multi-disciplinary approach of Wilderness Day, falls a practice that we call "living history." This is a combination of drama, history and outdoor ed. We try to arrange the dramatic visit of a historical figure several times each year. Our intention is to open curiosity and a sense of the past that will lead students to have a deeper connection with history…feeling as if they have been there themselves. We try to choose a person whose story fits in with our unit of study. Ben Franklin joined for kite day at Hidden Valley, Paul Revere came thundering down the Colorado trail, John Muir stood knee deep in the freezing waters of Junction Creek and the Unsinkable Molly Brown stumbled into our story time at Cascade Lodge. We believe that living history contributes to a sense of wonder and curiosity that are a valuable part of active learning. If you know someone who might like to contribute to a living history presentation, be sure to leave a note at the office, or Contact Us on the web!