At Mackintosh Academy in Littleton, Colorado, embracing an inquiry-based education model for gifted students is central to our teaching philosophy, and we recognize the immense value of experiential learning. Recently, our fifth and sixth-grade students and teachers embarked on a transformative trip to the Cal-Wood Education Center. This expedition seamlessly aligned with our International Baccalaureate (IB) program, immersing these students in an enriching experience that nurtured curiosity, critical thinking, and a deeper understanding of the natural world.

Fifth and sixth grade lead teacher Roger Chow explained the benefits of this excursion: “Calwood offers a truly remarkable experience for students, enabling them to disconnect from the technological distractions of the world and fully immerse themselves in outdoor exploration. It’s been a privilege to witness students who initially approached this experience with trepidation and timidity undergo a transformation, emerging as joyful, engaged individuals. Even those who were typically reserved have opened up, interacting and connecting with peers they might not have otherwise engaged with.” He added that “Cal-Wood serves as a platform for students to forge bonds without the typical distractions of school or technology, allowing them to move closer to discovering and embracing their authentic selves.”

Cal-Wood Education Center: The Perfect Backdrop for Inquiry-Based Experiential Learning

Cal-Wood Education Center, nestled amidst the breathtaking Rocky Mountains, offered a perfect setting for students to immerse themselves in nature and derive knowledge through hands-on exploration. The pristine natural surroundings and diverse ecosystem serve as an open laboratory for students to delve into the intricacies of the environment. By engaging in interactive activities and outdoor adventures, the students satisfied their curiosity and enhanced their understanding of the natural world.

As they stepped out of the traditional classroom and into nature, our students were exposed to real-world applications of what they had learned, translating theoretical knowledge into practical wisdom. The immersive learning experience at Cal-Wood complemented the objectives of gifted education, facilitating the development of critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity in a dynamic and challenging environment.

“Calwood does an incredible job of engaging students in their outdoor learning spaces,” commented Nancy Muchich, fifth and sixth grade lead teacher. In addition to the education benefit, she noted that, “We all enjoy the activities, the downtime, and of course, the great food! Our students go to Calwood and see each other in a new light. They come home a cohesive group, a real community.” 

Experiential Learning: A Gateway to Growth

The trip to Cal-Wood was not merely a recreational outing; it was an educational expedition designed to enrich young minds. Experiential learning, which emphasizes learning through direct experiences, was fundamental to this journey. The students actively participated in nature hikes, ecology lessons, and team-building activities, internalizing concepts and gaining insights that traditional classroom teaching cannot replicate.

At Cal-Wood, students not only deepened their understanding of ecological systems but also honed their interpersonal skills, resilience, and adaptability. These experiences will stay with them throughout their academic journey, nurturing them to become well-rounded individuals with a profound appreciation for the world around them. 

Samantha Walker, fifth and sixth grade associate teacher, shared her insights on the personal development opportunities at Calwood. “”Calwood is an opportunity for our students to be risk takers and get out of their comfort zones and experience the outdoors in fun and engaging activities. Students and chaperones alike build friendships and create a sense of belonging that resonates throughout the school year and beyond,” she said.

Student Voices from the Experience

Upon returning, students were asked to write reflections on their experiences, an exercise integral to inquiry-based learning. They commented on the content of the lessons at Cal-Wood, the opportunity to connect with classmates, and on the value of immersing themselves in nature.

One student remarked, “I really liked the campfire circle because of all the laughing and happiness. I also liked the night hike. The stars were so bright.”

Another added, “My favorite part was being in touch with nature. It’s so relaxing to be out in the world.” Echoing this, another student said, “I loved hiking and talking with my friends. I just love being in nature because it has nice clean air to breathe.”

Finally, one student offered this wise advice to future attendees, “These are going to be core memories you’re making and will stick with you for the rest of your life. This is a chance to get away from your devices for a couple days. It’s a chance to be in nature, so even if it seems bad, it will be a blast.”

Conclusion: Fostering Bright Minds through Immersive Experience

By providing an immersive and experiential learning opportunity, the trip to Cal-Wood Education Center not only enriched the academic growth of  Mackintosh students but also their personal growth. As they returned from this enriching journey, their minds were buzzing with newfound knowledge and a profound sense of appreciation for the natural world.

At Mackintosh Academy, we remain committed to nurturing the potential of gifted students through inquiry-based education, preparing them to become thoughtful, innovative leaders of tomorrow. Cal-Wood was just a stepping stone in this journey, and we look forward to many more such transformative experiences.

Interested in how your child might benefit from our inquiry-based International Baccalaureate education? We’d love to hear from you. Please reach out to our Director of Enrollment Management via email or give us a call at (303) 794-6222.

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Since 2014, Mackintosh Academy middle school students have participated in the

The WAC is open to middle and high school students from across the globe who work in teams to create innovative solutions. As part of this competition, students consult with subject matter experts to learn about the root causes of a specific global issue, and how it impacts communities. They then design solutions to address the problem and implement community service projects to contribute toward solving the issue. On WAC Event day, student teams present their work to a panel of judges for feedback and scoring. They also take a Global Quiz to assess their knowledge of world issues.

In the week leading into spring break, our Mackintosh middle school students completed and submitted their video presentation on the global issues they had researched. A panel of volunteer judges reviewed these videos and then conducted Zoom interviews with each team. The WACadamia Nuts took third place in the competition for their project focusing on bat conservation. This group investigated the impact of disease, climate change, habitat shift, and human interaction upon the at-risk bat population. As their service project, they built two bat houses to place in local areas to help provide more roosting sites for bats. Their project video is available for viewing here.

The other Mackintosh teams participating in the competition were:

• We’re WAC in Business -This team investigated how climate change affects indigeous populations in Alaska who are having to relocate. Their service included student design artwork (sculpture, watercolor, and digital downloads) to help raise money for those forced to relocate.
• The WAC Meisters – This group researched how kelp farms can help mitigate ocean acidification due to climate change, which is increasing the oceans’ dead spots. They baked cookies and breads with kelp-derived products to have a fundraiser to support organizations that are researching and using kelp farms for environmental support.
• WACamarines – This team examined how lionfish, an invasive species, are affecting Florida’s coral reefs and the surrounding ecosystem. They planned a recycled boat raingutter regatta to raise funds for lionfish mitigation groups.
• Project Chomolungma  – This group delved into a dirty topic – the waste that is left by tourist climbers in the Khumbu Valley, where. Mount Everest (Chomolungma) is found. They made handmade soap to sell to the Mack community to support an organization within the Khumbu region that works to clean up the waste.
• WACxolotls – This group studied axolotls, an endangered species whose home habitat is Lake Xochimilco in Mexico. The water availability for the lake and Mexico City is at a crisis level, greatly affecting the people, habitat and the animals that live within it. The team created plush lovey dolls in the form of the axolotls and sold them to community members to raise funds for an organization working with farmers near Lake Xochimilco to improve environmental conditions.
  

All of the students worked hard to research their chosen issue, interview experts in the field, synthesize the information into a presentation, and create a service project to address the issue. Mackintosh middle school teacher Joe Pausback recognized the value of the experience for all students, saying, “As a teacher, guiding students through WAC feels sort of like driving a big bus down a steep hill and midway down throwing the steering wheel out the window and then watching what happens.  From start to finish each project grows organically and as a teacher my role becomes facilitation.  Each group winds up in their own unique place with their own challenges and needs.  For me the first week or two is hard getting the students to connect with each other and get moving in the same direction.  The best moment usually happens about two weeks in, when each group finally is connected and vested in their project and no longer needs teacher guidance to remain on task. I also love when the students start setting up and conducting their interviews. Another challenging part is keeping up with the expectations from the World Affairs Challenge administration. They have a schedule for when they need certain discrete tasks completed from each group and getting all the pieces down at the right time takes focus and finesse. For some reason this year, the due dates always seemed to come a little before the students were really ready for them.”

Kelly Kates, Mackintosh performing arts teacher and student service coordinator, also supported WAC students. She reflected, “Since it was the first time working with WAC for me, I was really excited about the students having the opportunity to address real world problems and to really have an impact,  It was inspiring to hear about all of the different projects.  It also gave me the opportunity to see our students in a different light as they were so professional while interviewing different people for their projects. Also, during the collaborative question, I got to sit in on all of the interviews with the judges. I took great pride in the fact that every team was told their video was one of the most creative the judges had seen – and I think having 4 of the top 10 teams reflects that.”

The World Affairs Challenge was founded in 2010 as part of what is now the Joseph Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. The WAC started as a community outreach program to educate students and teachers about global issues. WAC is merging with World Denver, another nonprofit organization that works “to strengthen and expand the community of engaged global citizens and organizations in Colorado through education, cross-cultural exchange, and personal interaction.”  Both WAC and World Denver align with Mackintosh Academy’s mission as an International Baccalaureate school that aims to empower students to make a difference in the world.

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By Tari St.Marie, 5th and 6th Grade Teacher

What do you do when the world hijacks your unit of inquiry? 

It started quietly enough, during our unit of  inquiry into Revolutions. My fifth and sixth grade students asked: Are all revolutions good? What if the revolution doesn’t work? Can you have a revolution without a war? 

Actually, yes, you can have a revolution without a war – we do it every four years in the United States when we elect a new president. We respond to the people’s wishes for their government peacefully instead of going to war.

That was October 12, three weeks before the election. Many of my students were paying attention to this election; they were very aware of the candidates and of their families’ perceptions of them. And after the election, their questions began to focus – they wanted to understand what was happening. Why hasn’t a president been declared? What is election fraud? Do elections always happen this way?

Our unit of inquiry shifted from Revolutions to Government: studying the very institutions that we were watching play out. The students read the Constitution to learn the powers and the limitations given to the branches of government, and their questions became more pointed: Why is President Trump saying the election was wrong? What is the role of the Supreme Court? What is the purpose of the Electoral College? Can these systems really overturn the vote?

And with these questions, I put away my planned lessons and allowed their questions to become the unit of inquiry. Their focus, while still on the United States government, became more of a deep dive into how Constitutional powers were actually playing out in real life than in what each branch of the government could do. They wanted to know if the election was wrong, so they learned about the power of the United States  judicial system and researched cases in Michigan, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Arizona. They learned about legal standing and voting observers and evidence. They read newspaper articles from different perspectives, attempted to make sense of the legal language of court cases, and they reflected on the lawsuits alleging voter fraud that the courts put aside for lack of evidence or lack of standing. 

They learned about the United States legislative branch by understanding that the legislature doesn’t have much of a say in presidential elections. They understood that states get to make their own election rules because those rules aren’t in the Constitution. They learned that states with certified results and no outstanding lawsuits are considered to have Safe Harbor, where Congress can’t question their Electors. They combined their research into the election lawsuits with their understanding of the role of Congress in elections and created a video for their senators, expressing their reasoned reflections that Congress should not try to do a job it isn’t set up to do, even if the President says they can or should.

At the beginning of January, the students’ –and the country’s – engagement was high. So much talk about overturning the election. Stopping the steal. The students were frustrated with many adults who didn’t understand that the United States government was working the way it should: Concerns were heard, but dismissed for lack of evidence. State laws had been followed and certified. All that was left was for Congress to certify the votes of the Electoral College. 

The Electoral College was their main entry point to the Executive Branch. They read the Constitution where the Electoral College was created and debated if this was still an idea we should use today. They read the statutes that explained how the counting of the electoral votes was to proceed, secure in the understanding that the election was over, because Congress had no role in doing anything but counting and certifying the electoral votes. They were excited to see this long process come to a close. And many of them were watching at home while, during the counting of the electoral votes, a mob breached the Capitol building. Like so many of us, they were stunned, wondering how this could happen when all the systems were doing their jobs. 

I heard many opinions about how I handled this unit. Many of my teacher friends outside of Mackintosh felt I had gone too far, that I had risked inserting bias into the discussion, or that I should have focused on the powers and limitations of the branches of government rather than engaged in current events that my students may not have been able to comprehend. 

But the International Baccalaureate tells me that student inquiry fuels agency and action. And what is education for, but to empower students to enable understanding that will help them to create the world they will need? 

What do you do when the real world hijacks your unit of inquiry? You let the students lead. 

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Mackintosh Academy Littleton has been named as a “Gold Leader” in the Colorado Environmental Leadership (ELP) program. A team of faculty and students attended the awards ceremony on October 9 to receive the award.

Because of the collective efforts of our Green Team of students, parents and staff, and sustainability coordinator Alison Weems, Mack Littleton has progressed rapidly from ELP Bronze Achiever in 2016 to Silver Partner in 2017 to Gold Leader in 2018. The program creates partnerships among businesses, governments, and organizations. The goal is to foster good relationships, reward environmental performance, and create a healthier, cleaner, and more sustainable Colorado.

Some of our fellow members in the Gold Leader category are Ball Aerospace, Children’s Hospital Denver, Denver International Airport, US Mint Denver, and Great Divide Brewing. Mackintosh Littleton is the only Colorado independent school to be recognized as a Gold Leader.

The school’s environmental initiatives kicked into high gear in 2014, when six sixth grade students wrote and won a $96,000 grant from the State Farm Youth Advisory Board to bring solar power to the campus. This made Mackintosh Littleton the first majority solar-powered school in Littleton. Since then, Mack Littleton has fully embraced the challenges of the 21st century to take seriously the responsibility to be good stewards of the environment. 

Mackintosh students of all ages design, participate in and lead environmental initiatives. Highlights include:

• Building a terraced erosion control project modeled on ancient Incan farming practices
• Creating “Messh Kits” – reusable plates and utensils to replace paper and plastic at community meals
• Picking up trash and clearing invasive weeds from an adopted neighborhood park
• Growing organic crops in a hydroponic greenhouse
• Analyzing real-time and long-term data on energy generated from solar panels
• Recycling over four tons of glass since 2017
• Brainstorming new ways to use repurposed materials, such as creating lanyards from used juice pouches

We want to thank our entire community for all they do to support sustainability at Mack, from delivering wine bottles and recyclable batteries to carline on Wednesdays, to volunteering to help with green initiatives, to bringing reusable plates and utensils to school events! It truly takes a “Smart Village”!

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At Mack Littleton, sustainability work is student-led and student-driven. With support from our faculty and parent community, students are able to create solutions to real-world problems such as how to minimize landfill waste from lunch products, create art out of recycled objects and grow organic greenhouse crops.

As Mack student representatives, Milo, Hazel and Emery met Colorado Senator Michael Bennet, toured American University’s sustainable campus, and attended other events for the Green Ribbon honorees. They returned with new ideas and observations that they shared with the entire school at an assembly, recognizing that this award is truly for our entire community to share. Here are some of their reflections:

Emery: Senator Michael Bennet had many interesting insights about the environment. When we first met him, it was clear he was very enthusiastic about the environment and students getting involved. He talked to us about being founders. In his words, “The founders of this country, strong men, still had slaves and it took a group of strong people to end slavery. Now it is going to take people not unlike yourselves, to stand up and fight for the environment.”

Milo: American University is special because it is very eco-friendly and is working to reduce its carbon footprint. My favorite thing we saw at AU was that they use permeable pavers for their sidewalks. Permeable pavers are tiles with cracks in between them where water can seep through onto layers of rock underground instead of running into the sewers. This way the water can go back up into the soil and help their plants.

The last thing we did was go to the award ceremony. We got to go onstage and I got to hold the green plaque while they took our picture. The ceremony, and the whole trip, was an amazing experience.

Hazel: On our trip to D.C., we made the discovery that there are millions more ways to became an even better Green School. Some new ideas came from the American University tour. When we took the tour, they talked about their sustainability practices, one of which was Green Roofs. Green Roofs are roofs with plants on them. Different roofs can hold different types of plants, depending on the weight the roof can hold. You would also use different plants based on where you lived due to thing like rain, snow, and temperature. This is one of the ideas we got from American University.

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Last Thursday, Mack-Boulder 4th graders brought to life the old folk tale, Stone Soup, in the form of a “rock opera” as their work-share.

For several weeks leading up to the performance, with Julie Chilton in Performing Arts, the students worked on learning musical numbers, staging directions, dancing, hand motions, and characters. They developed stage presence, practiced cooperation, and experienced being part of a cast.

In addition to the “rock opera,” a group of 4th graders also learned and played a song as part of a live band. Since several 4th graders are either experienced school band members or recently joined the school band, Julie decided with the students to incorporate this aspect into the work-share.

4th grade teacher Melody Parker said, “It was exciting to see all of the growth in the students throughout the experience—confidence, stage presence, rhythm, and choral singing.” Parker explained that the work-share connected to the 4th grade’s IB Unit of Inquiry about community, as the students learned how to support each other as a cast and ensemble during the experience. The 4th graders even made all of the props, with Bev Ball in the Design Lab.

Just as the villagers and soldiers ultimately came together to create a delicious soup for the community to share, the 4th graders, with help from several of their teachers, came together to create Stone Soup for our community to enjoy.

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¿Cuánto cuesta? ¡Es demasiado!

Mack Littleton 5^th and 6^th graders created a Latin American mercado (market) in alignment with the International Relations Unit of Inquiry. Inspired by a conversation with a student who suggested that it would be fun to have a market, Spanish teacher Susan Jenkins guided the students into an inquiry on Spanish-speaking countries, their products, crafts and currencies. The students then created a market where they browsed, bought and sold items they created – all using their Spanish-speaking skills, of course.

Each market booth featured a typical product and currency from a Spanish-speaking country, based on the students’ research. The booth had each country’s flag, some information about the country and the currency exchange rate. Students used appropriate Spanish vocabulary to sell and buy products, as well as had friendly conversations in Spanish. They mingled amongst the booths, greeting each other and making their “purchases,” which included artisan crafts as well as homemade foods like churros, cocadas and frutas.  The conversations included a good deal of bargaining, as students practiced this Latin American cultural skill.

To prepare for this event, students reviewed which countries speak Spanish and practiced their map skills. They then chose and researched two countries before being placed with a partner for the booth project. Practicing collaboration, the students worked with their partners to research their country’s flag, major exports, currency and interesting facts. They found currency exchange rates and created currency for their country, estimating how much they would need to buy products at the market and give change at their booth. Reviewing Spanish numbers from 1 to 1,000,000 was important in this project!

The students also researched typical crafts of their country, decided which items they would sell at their booth and created their wares. Parent Danna Liebert taught a group of sixth graders how to do simple weaving and some students incorporated that skill into their chosen craft.

During the afternoon of the mercado, the gym was bustling with activity and students could be heard using their Spanish vocabulary to greet one another, determine the prices of items and even bargain for the best deal. Parents and staff got into the spirit as they visited booths and asked questions about each country and its products.

After the market, students reflected on the experience. One student said, “I enjoyed selling and being sold out and saying the Spanish and shopping.” Another shared that “I thought the market was so fun and it was a great opportunity to learn Spanish in a fun way.  I would like to have another market.”  Another child’s comment was: “This is one of the funnest projects I have done in school.”

Ms. Jenkins, who is new to Mack Littleton this year, was thrilled to share this experience with the 5^th and 6^th graders.  She loved learning Spanish and about different cultures as a 7th grader through high school.  She studied Spanish in college and did a study abroad program in Mexico. She says, “Because of my travels, I’ve always known the importance of speaking another language.  I love teaching Spanish by giving a purpose to speak and to allow for each student’s interest and creativity to flourish.  This particular unit was perfect to do that!”

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Over the past few weeks, students have ventured off campus in the new ETVs (Experiential education Transportation Vehicles) to learn and serve. As part of their IB unit on the importance of community, the 4^th grade toured the There with Care facility and learned about the ways the organization supports children and families with critical illnesses. The students decorated grocery bags which There With Care will use to deliver food to families. (In November, the 4^th graders will host a pancake breakfast at Mack to raise money to further support There With Care.) The 2^nd graders traveled to Harper Lake as part of their IB unit involving nature; in addition to studying the flora and fauna, they cleaned up enough garbage to fill two huge bags. Last week Middle School Franklin and Goodall Houses traveled to help out at a local food bank.

On campus, students have learned more about recycling and composting at Mack, they dug up invasive weeds, they helped create a pollinator house, they built a rustic outdoor classroom, and they learned about what’s in the stream that runs through campus and how to become better environmental stewards of it.

Thanks to the generosity of the greater Mack community, which enabled the purchase of the two Experiential education Transportation Vehicles, Mack-Boulder students will be able to more fully live the motto: Keen Minds, Compassionate Hearts, Global Action.

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The International Baccalaureate Programmes’ framework nurtures not only students, but citizens of the world. Students are taught to be active and engaged participants in the classroom. They are not simply taught book smarts, but learn the life skills to be successful in today’s world. Finally, IB students are encouraged to feel a sense of responsibility for their actions and for their communities.

Part of the Process

In a traditional classroom, lesson plans dictate what students are going to learn and how. Student input is rare. In contrast, an ideal IB classroom encourages students to ask questions, reflect, and share ideas. Students can’t passively sit and absorb information — they are part of the process.

In an IB classroom, teachers are responsive to students’ needs, questions, and interests.  The teacher will have a map and a clear destination in mind, but students are encouraged to also read the map, offer suggestions for detour inquiries, and even drive at times. IB classrooms are active places and the students are a vital force within them.

Students learn that life doesn’t happen to you; you have to be part of the process. You can’t just watch it go by; you must jump in and be part of it!

Turns the “So What?” question into “Now What?”

In every IB classroom, students ask what they can do to take action with what they are learning in school. This action allows students to be part of the educational process. School is not being “done to them,” rather, they are part of the “doing.”

To be honest, sometimes students would rather memorize a bunch of facts to rattle off to impress those around them. It’s fun for the gifted mind to do that and it’s a great party trick. However, as a lifelong skill, it is great for first dates and trivia games, but a personality cannot be grounded in the ability to memorize facts and figures — the novelty wears thin for those around you!

You also need the ability to empathize with others, connect, build relationships, and put those facts and figures to use. You need to be able to make the intellectual leaps to bridge difficult concepts. The final summative projects, activities, and thinking in the IB “tickles” the brain and forces it to make these leaps and forge connections. These connections deepen not only the student’s understanding, but the understanding of those working with them, and can propel change in our world. Students know the “what” of the world and begin to see themselves as a part of that world and agents for change.

Learn and Use Skills Needed in the 21^st Century Workplace

The IB framework requires students to learn and continually improve key life skills. IB graduates earn worldwide praise acknowledging that they know how to write well, speak in front of others with confidence, and comprehend key ideas and nuances in texts. They can manage their time, materials, and space. They know how to ask critical questions that will affect their personal, community, national, and world health, finances, and safety. They have the tools to determine if something is real or “fake news.” They can empathize, connect, and collaborate with others. They have the tools and skills to propel the “book smarts” into something they can share with the rest of the world, a career they are effective at and happy with, and meaningful and productive relationships.

World Citizen Character Compass

Finally, IB students come to embody a set of attributes to aspire to and a lifelong calling to take action when they can. IB students continually practice being caring, communicators, thinkers, open-minded, inquirers, mindful/reflective, principled, balanced, risk-takers/courageous, resilient, and knowledgeable. These attributes are not just put up on classroom walls in the hope that students will absorb them by chance or osmosis. These characteristics are taught, discussed, reflected in discussion and writing, and are part of the ties that connect the community of all IB students from over 6,000 schools worldwide.

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The second of three Friday Explorations sessions wrapped last week.

Under the “arts” umbrella, the aforementioned pottery (or “Mack Mud Makers”) was offered, as was a Fabric Arts class. Students upcycled old t-shirts to weave rugs on looms made out of hula hoops. “Pickin’ and Strummin’” appealed to students who wanted to learn how to play the guitar.

For book worms, “Camp Read-a-Lot” was offered to our younger students—reading in tents with flashlights and hot cocoa while also exploring character, genre, new authors, and such. Older “worms” had the opportunity to join the “Mock Newbery Award Committee.” They selected and read three Newbery-contenders and vigorously discussed them based on the criteria the actual Newbery Award Committee uses. On the last day, the group visited Boulder Book Store to meet with the children & young adult departments’ book buyer.

The students who chose “E-Textiles” learned the basics of embedding circuitry into fabric and other flexible materials—the made cool bracelets, light-up stuffies, and other exciting creations. In another “maker” class, students used VEX Robotics kits to design and build “Battle Bots.” A Battle Bot competition was the culminating event!

In “Mack-Incorporated” the students learned about prototyping products, mass production with quality control, marketing/promotion, creating a business plan, and sales. In “History of the Hero in Film” the students started with Charlie Chaplin and his film Modern Times and continued with the evolution of the hero in film with the Lone Ranger, Zorro, and Robin Hood.

For the students who wanted physical action, there were three offerings: “Mack Movers Around the World” (a combination of dance, geography, costumes, music, and rhythm), “Fitness Fun” (a big gym mashup of obstacle courses, relays, fitness stations and dancing), and “Field Trip Fitness” (offsite fitness experiences such as parkour, climbing, boarding, and a cycling course).

In “Wilderness Medicine Level One” students learned skills such as taking a pulse and respiratory rate, building a makeshift stretcher, splinting broken bones, stopping severe bleeding, and, most importantly, how to stay calm and keep the patient calm.

Friday Explorations provide amazing opportunities for students, but they also allow teachers to share their interests and passions with students outside of a classroom setting. Allowing the opportunity for students to work with students in other grades is another favorite aspect. Overall, Friday Explorations provide additional excitement and enrichment while helping to further strengthen the Mack-Boulder community. We’re excited for the Spring session to begin!

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