AMONG THOSE attending this month’s Cispus Outdoor School were, front row, Dominick Miles and Grace Anderson, and back row from left, Tracey MacLachlan, Laurie Pritchard, Carla Bonebrake and Susan Yaddof.
They hiked to a waterfall, identified plant species, tested soil composition, and assessed the purity of stream water.
For 175 students from South Ridge and Union elementary schools, the Oct. 5-9 Cispus Outdoor School was a chance to swap learning environments. They left the traditional world of straight rows of desks for a classroom amid salal, Oregon grape and vine maple in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest near Randle.
“The kids get a chance to become field scientists,” said Union Ridge Elementary School fifth-grade teacher Laurie Pritchard. “They are making real world connections to things we study in class.”
It’s the 45th year that fifth graders from Ridgefield School District have attended the school. They leave cell phones and television behind for a week of life in the wild, sleeping in cabins owned by the Association of Washington School Principals.
“The cabins are identical to when I went there 45 years ago,” said Carla Bonebrake, who works in staff support at Union Ridge Elementary School.
Three dozen Ridgefield High School students went along to act as counselors. There were also 10 district staff members and 13 volunteers.
Dominick Miles, a junior at Ridgefield High School, was one of the counselors. It was his second year to help with the outdoor school, and he called the experience one of the best of his life.
“It forces the counselors to learn, too,” Miles said. “You’re forced to teach.”
Some of the activities build the fifth graders’ self-esteem, said Tracey MacLachlan, assistant principal at Union Ridge Elementary School. That was especially true of the long, steep hike to the waterfall.
MacLachlan said it’s a big challenge for some children, but she recalled one student who overcame doubts to reach the site, exclaiming “I did it!” and giving her a high-five.
“It sets the stage for them knowing they can achieve anything they set their mind to,” Pritchard said.
Each student pays $100 for the week, which includes lodging, food, instruction and transportation to and from the school site. Reil Affordable Rental of Woodland gave the group a discount price for a U-Haul to take everyone’s gear to the camp and back. Children whose parents can’t pay the full amount are subsidized by the district.
Staff members and students said the week-long learning adventure couldn’t happen without volunteers. Some of those, including volunteer Susan Yaddof’s husband, use their vacation time from work to take part.
Learning occurs day and night. In the evening, some children are assigned to set the dinner table with silverware while others are tasked with re-filling bowls of food when they become empty or sweeping the floor after the meal. Professional cooks prepare the food.
“Some kids fight over wanting to sweep the floor because they’ve never done that before,” Bonebrake said.
Fifth grader Grace Anderson said she enjoyed the entire week.
“I loved the hikes and campfires at night,” she said. “I also liked making survival fires.”
Fire-building and shelter construction were part of the outdoor curriculum, along with a friendly competition to see who could win the Golden Marshmallow Award by turning the candy an appealing golden brown.
“I had a blackened marshmallow,” Anderson said, adding that’s her favorite kind.
She urged this year’s fourth graders to attend the school next year.
“You’re missing out if you don’t,” Anderson said. “It’s a lot of fun.”
Even children with no outdoor background found they enjoyed the experience once they were there.
“Every year I have students who ask why we can’t do school like this all the time,” Pritchard said.
