Outdoor Adventure

“Hello!I just wanted to share with you how proud I am of the Outdoor Adventure kids. As many of you know we had our on-campus overnight on Friday night (May 16th). I have heard a number of students joking that OA had to sleepover on campus, but I want to make sure that people fully understand what they did.

Each student was provided three 8’ to 10’ staves, twine, and a blue tarp and was asked to work with a peer or by themselves to construct their own shelter for the overnight. They did not have tents with floors to separate them from the ground or specialized rain gear. These students utilized their knowledge of lashings, knots, and shelter construction they learned over the course of the term to build structures that would weather the eventual storm. You may recall that a steady rain began falling at about 4 pm and kept falling straight through until 8 am the following morning! The students started a fire without matches or lighter in the pouring rain, cooked their own supper, and then proceeded to stay out the entire night despite the fact that it was a cold and wet 45 degrees!

While this display of acquired skill makes Dan and me very proud… the upbeat attitudes and sunny dispositions that the students wore through the entire event was truly a credit to their individual and group spirit.

To quote the kids- “Huzzah OA!”

Thanks!

Mr. Mertz”