Ecolink - Holy Spirit Episcopal School

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Outdoor Education Program

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 Ecolink/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 and the opportunity to apply knowledge gained in the classroom.

Ecolink 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 their hands and imagination in a direct learning process.
To broaden students' personal awareness and experience with outdoor living/travel procedures and safety.

Ecolink Trips for 2017-2018

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 that takes place in November.

5th Grade: The Outdoor School (www.outdoorschool.com/camp-champions )

The Outdoor School is located in the Texas Hill Country near Marble Falls, Texas. The Outdoor School began in 1996 and is just what its name implies: It is a place where kids can see, hear, touch, smell, and even taste nature. A place where they can learn about themselves, their natural environment and their peers while participating in fun and educational outdoor activities. This is a four-day trip that takes place in September.

6th Grade: Camp Eagle and Enchanted Rock (www.campeagle.org )

The 6^th grade will spend a week at Camp Eagle with a stop at Enchanted Rock on the way home. Camp Eagle is nestled in the beautiful and rugged Texas Hill Country near the headwaters of the spring-fed Nueces River. At Camp Eagle students will experience hands-on education through wild adventures, spiritual growth and outdoor adventure in a setting that’s unlike any classroom. This is a four-day trip that takes place in October.

7th Grade: Catalina Island Marine Institute (cimi.org)

Located on Catalina Island, off the coast of southern California, students will spend time in ecology discussions, snorkeling, kayaking, hiking and hands-on lab investigations that are very effective in teaching marine ecology concepts. This is a four-day trip takes place in September.

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 Ecolink experience for HSES students and draws upon all the skills and understandings developed throughout previous Ecolink/Outdoor Education trips.