Mission Statement
Holy Spirit Episcopal School initiated its outdoor education program to foster respect, love, and understanding for our environment, to encourage students to pursue mental, physical, and spiritual challenges, and to develop leadership, cooperation, and tolerance.
To fulfill this mission, Holy Spirit has established the ECO-link/Outdoor Education program, which seeks to achieve goals that correspond with those of the science and history curricula of the appropriate grade, and to provide a better understanding of subject content andthe opportunity to apply knowlege gained in the classroom.
ECO-link Outdoor Education Objectives
- To promote a feeling of unity and shared experience outside the classroom.
- To promote an understanding of various ecological habitats.
- To develop and improve leadership and communication skills.
- To develop in students a love and respect for the natural world.
- To enlist the active participation of each student by engaging his hands and his imagination in a direct learning process.
- To broaden students' personal awareness and experience with outdoor living/travel proceedures and safety.
ECO-link Trips for 2011 - 2012
4th Grade: Camp Allen (campallen.org)
Camp Allen, located in a “piney woods” ecosystem near Navasota, provides "hands on" educational experiences that enhance classroom learning. The experiences are integrated into a complete program that helps participants gain a well-rounded understanding of current issues, environmental respect, history, and human relationships. This is a three-day trip in early November, 2011.
5th Grade: Sky Ranch (skyranch.org)
Located in Northeast Texas, Sky Ranch provides our students with a chance to study three different ecosystems, push their boundaries on a challenge course, ride horses, and grow spiritually. This is a four-day trip in mid-September, 2011.
6th Grade: Enchanted Rock
Enchanted Rock is located in the Texas Hill Country, where our students will spend four days and three nights in early October, 2011 hiking, camping and rock climbing. The focus of this trip is to teach safe and comfortable living in the wilderness while learning an appreciation of its beauty.
7th Grade: Marine Lab (marinelab.org)Located on Key Largo, Florida, Marine Lab's blend of ecology discussions, hands-on investigations, and snorkeling field observations are very effective in teaching marine ecology concepts. This is a four-day trip in late September, 2011.
8th Grade: Noah's Ark Adventure Trip (noahsark.com) The eighth grade trip is a six-day adventure experience in August at Noah's Ark Adventure camp near Central Colorado. This trip offers our students an exciting rafting, hiking and camping adventure in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. This is the final ECO-link experience for HSES students and draws upon all the skills and understandings developed throughout previous ECO-link/Outdoor Education trips.