Floating Down the River
By:
Fuentes Elementary's Faculty and Staff were challenged by a raft trip down the Colorado river at their beginning of the year science and outdoor education discovery trip. The two day workshop took place at McKinney Roughs Nature preserve and was designed to challenge the teachers much the same way they challenge their students every day. Outdoor activities were the focus as well as natural classroom discovery. Teachers gained a better understanding of how to incorporate outdoor ed activities and science discovery as enriching and rigorous lessons. From raft trips to wildlife studies to video scavenger hunts in the outdoor spaces teachers were engaged with each other in outdoor science and social studies lessons that they could use back at school. The teachers also left with a better understanding of how students feel when they try something new, as most of the teachers had never been in a rubber raft before and there was a bit of a fear factor and learning curve to overcome.
Teachers, para professionals and auxilary staff alike all took part in the team building and experiential learning opportunities. The learning journey took place on August 19,2012 and August 20, 2012. Each dedicated staff member gave up one day of their summer for this important learning opportunity, so they could better serve the students of Fuentes Elementary.