Outdoor school lets students embrace nature, education
Mariposa Academy student Victor Madero, 12, is in the middle of the knot he and fellow students including Miguel Hernandez, 12, left, Sondra Willeford, 12, and Natalia Medina, 12, tried to untangle themselves from on their first day at the Great Basin Outdoor School held at Camp Galilee in Glenbrook on May 13, 2008.
To 12-year-old Brianna Dean, Lake Tahoe can’t be described in pictures or words.
“I didn’t really think it was going to be this pretty,” said Dean, a sixth-grader at Mount Rose Elementary School.
“I didn’t think it was going to be this big,” added Sondra Willeford, 12, also in sixth grade at the southwest Reno school.
Dean and Willeford were among the sixth-graders who kicked off the spring opening of the Great Basin Outdoor School at Lake Tahoe on Tuesday. Mount Rose Elementary School joined Mariposa Academy charter school to learn about science in the four-day, three-night stay at the outdoor school.
Great Basin Outdoor School’s intense science program is designed to match the curriculum requirements of the Washoe County School District, prepare students to understand and appreciate their environment and help them get a solid foundation in natural science before middle school.
Mariposa sixth-grader Luis Sotelo said he is excited about learning along the shores of Lake Tahoe.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Luis, 12. “There’s different things that you learn here than in school — and you learn (while) having fun.”
Mariposa Academy teacher Karon Dutcher said many of the students have never seen Lake Tahoe or gone camping.
“This is a different opportunity for these students than what they experience every day,” Dutcher said. “A lot of these kids just go home and babysit their brothers and sisters or play games, but here they get to think and use their imagination.”
Mariposa is a Title One school, which means it has a high percentage of low-income children. More than 75 percent of Mariposa’s students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
Title One schools receive federal funds to ensure that their children meet state academic requirements.
Although Great Basin Outdoor School charges a base fee of $195 per student, it offers a tuition reduction through community support. The outdoor school paid for about 80 percent of the tuition for both Mariposa and Mount Rose students.
“The kids are great,” said Sue Jacox, president of the board of directors for the school. “I love having them here and being able to share Lake Tahoe.”
Among the subjects the students learned about on Tuesday evening was astronomy. Activities included stargazing, making model planets and listening to legends.
On Wednesday, the kids took a trip to Spooner Lake to learn about wildlife and forest ecology.
“It feels like much more than school,” Willeford said. “It feels like you’re playing and having fun and learning at the same time.”
This article originally appeared in Reno Gazette-Journal.
