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Outdoor School FAQ by Mr. Black
Outdoor School is a week-long overnight field trip for sixth graders attending public and private schools in Multnomah County. The education is primarily environmental and scientific, although there are many social components. The students spend one day on each of the following areas of study: water, plants, soil, and animals. (This time is called "field study.") The four components are tightly integrated. Even by the second day, the students see how these four areas work together in an ecosystem. One of the most amazing parts of Outdoor School is the hands-on aspect. The students are out in the field in various locations at the camps. They explore rivers, creeks, and ponds. They handle animal furs and skeletons. They identify and work with plants in the forest. They take hikes in the immediate area. It's pretty rare for the kids to be indoors and/or inactive during the field study. Field study is from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and then again from 1:30
p.m. to 4:00 p.m. What do the kids do during non-field study times? In the mornings the kids have duties. Duties include working the weather station, raising the morning flag, and setting up the dining hall for breakfast. After breakfast the kids have cleaning duties, which include cleaning the dining hall, bathrooms, and their cabins. There are three meals a day plus a snack. After lunch is quiet time. During this time they work on skits with their cabin groups, take showers, and/or write letters, etc. After afternoon field study is recreation time. They have many activities to choose from, including quiet and physical activities. They could include crafts, field games, hikes, cooking, etc. After dinner is classroom time with either Mr. Migchelbrink or me. After class time is campfire. We all sing songs and the cabin groups perform skits. Here is a sample daily schedule. This is obviously the minimal amount of info. Here is a great link to a tour of the program from the ODS Website. When is Outdoor School? What camps are the homerooms attending? Which teachers go? This year the sixth graders will attend ODS May 6 through 11. Note that we leave on a Sunday. This year all the sixth graders will attend one camp, Sandy River . Mr. Black and Mrs. Reece will both attend the entire week. Usually because of numbers the sixth graders attend two camps. Next year it will go back to two camps. Why do they leave on Sunday? Sunday night is used for orientation; Friday is used for closing
activities and ceremonies. This leaves four full days for field
studies. Without the Sunday start and Friday end, academic time
would be seriously cut. What time do the students need to be at school and what time do the buses leave? The students should be at school at 2:30 on Sunday the 6th. The buses leave promptly at 3:00. They return at 1:30 pm on Friday, and you should arrange to have your child picked up at that time. Who runs Outdoor School? Outdoor School is a program within the Multnomah Education Service District. The MESD is a consortium of all school districts in Multnomah County. The MESD provides many services to districts. A small district like Riverdale especially benefits. If you are interested in learning more abut the MESD, here is their website. Does Outdoor School have a website? It sure does. And they have a special page just for parents. What if my child has special needs? The ODS staff is fantastic about handling any
special needs, including academic, physical, dietary, or any other need. They are committed to every
sixth grader in Multnomah county attending ODS with complete
success. If your child has a special need, contact me.
I will put you in contact with the ODS nurse who will handle the
special needs of your child. Some special needs are confidential and private, and ODS respects this. I've seen first-hand how wonderful they are about accommodating all students with respect and dignity. How much does ODS cost? Is there a scholarship available? The cost is approximately $360; I'll know for certain in a few weeks. The letter I send home with all the forms for you to fill out will detail all the costs. If you have any kind of financial hardship, needs-based assistance is available; contact Lori Peterson. This is handled confidentially. Why can't the two homerooms go to the same camp? Of
course, this year they are, but I'm leaving this in so I don't have to
rewrite it next year. In addition to educational learning at ODS,
there is a strong social learning component. We want the students
meeting and interacting with students from diverse backgrounds.
We want them to learn how to live with someone they've never met
before. We want them to have new and exciting social
experiences. Outdoor School has learned that if there are two
homerooms from one school at a camp, the two homerooms dominate the
camp socially and interfere with this valuable learning experience. Who are the adults working at the camps? There is one site supervisor at each camp; they're sort of like the principals at a school. This person is responsible for supervising the other adults and generally running the camp and making sure things go smoothly. Next are four to six program leaders. Program leaders are in charge of everything except academics. They work with the other adults to plan activities such as recreation and campfire. They monitor student duties. They work directly with the student leaders to help the running of the cabins. They work with teachers to make sure everything is going smoothly. Next are four field instructors. They're in charge of all the academic learning at ODS. They plan, organize, and stock all the learning stations. They train the student leaders how to teach the work stations. There is a nurse, who is in charge of distributing meds to all students, taking care of health concerns, and performing administrative duties. The nurse, like all the other adults, is on site 24 hours a day. There are cooks, also, because all meals at OD are homemade. They get to work at 4:00 a.m. to start preparing! Yes, they sure do. They start banging those pots around bright and early. Sometimes my room is next to the kitchen. Where do the students sleep? They sleep in heated cabins on bunk beds. There are
plastic-coated mattresses, so the kids need to bring a sleeping
bag. If they don't have a sleeping bag or don't like sleeping in
bags, they can bring sheets and a comforter (that is what I
do). The cabins do not have plumbing, but there is a bathroom area
near the cabins with toilets, sinks, and showers. Who stays in the cabins with the students? High school students, referred to as "student
leaders." This is from the ODS Parent FAQ: "High
school student leaders must be at least in the 10th grade and in good
academic standing at their school before being eligible for Outdoor
School. Teachers and counselors at the high school give students
permission to attend a training workshop. At the workshop, Outdoor
School staff members train and select students who show an aptitude for
leadership and demonstrate responsibility, enthusiasm, and leadership
skills. After the workshop, high school students who are selected are
again screened by high school teachers and counselors before they
receive permission to attend as an Outdoor School student leader. While
at Outdoor School, high school student leaders work under close
supervision of Outdoor School staff and classroom teachers." What else do student leaders do? They are responsible for cabin harmony. They work with their cabin groups on a charter, which details how they'll all get along for the week. The student leaders take their cabin groups from area to area throughout the day. (Sixth graders are never allowed to be unsupervised at ODS.) They help the kids write and perform a skit appropriate for all audiences. The student leaders also teach the various field studies, under the direction and guidance of a field study instructor. Each field study has about eight stations the kids rotate through during the day, and each one is taught by one or more student leaders. My child definitely wants to be a student leader when he/she is a sophomore. Do they get time for homework? Do they receive community service credit from their high schools? How do they sign up? Ok, I made that one up, but, yes we begin getting the sixth graders
excited about coming back as student leaders right away. Although the
demands on student leaders are high, they do have time to work on
homework. Recreation time is run by the staff and teachers so that
the high school students can do homework. Community service
is an increasingly popular item added to the curriculum at many high
schools, and some do offer credit for ODS. Students should check
with their schools. If you have a current high school student who would like to be a student leader, have him or her contact me! What other schools will be there? How many kids in a cabin? Will my child be with friends in the cabin? There are typically four or five sixth grade classes from various schools in Multnomah County at each camp, for a total of 120 students. Each cabin contains 10 to 12 students, with students from three or four of the schools. Riverdale students will be in groups of two or three. They will be with at least one friend of their choosing. How do the kids choose their Riverdale cabin partners and when will they find out who is in their cabin? Sometime
in March I will have each student write down the names of three or four
students from their homeroom they'd like to be with. They
obviously cannot be with everyone; there are only two or three
Riverdale students per cabin. I promise they'll be with at least
one person on their list. They will not find out who is in their
cabin until they get there. This is because the first thing that
happens when Mrs. Reece and I get to the camp is meet with the
site supervisor, the other teachers, and the program leader in charge
of the student leaders and cabins. We sit down and find out how
many student leaders there are, how many cabins there will be, and if
there are any potential conflicts. Then, the cabin groups are
assigned. Where do Mr. Black and Mrs. Reece stay? Right at the camp, 24 hours a day. There are facilities for all the teachers, and I can personally attest they are not nearly as plush as the student cabin areas. Usually we stay in rooms off the dining hall. What do Mr. Black and Mrs. Reece do during the week? We attend field studies with the students. We go from station to station, observing and helping. We are "guests" at every meal. All adults and student leaders are guests...it's a clever way to make sure there are at least two adults at every table, but the real treat is for the kids because they get to eat with the student leaders. We're responsible for monitoring the students for an hour every night during class time. We meet with field instructors every night to plan the next day and put the kids into learning groups. My child has a conflict and must leave ODS during the week. I
understand there are spring sports and other extra curricular
activities kids are involved in. At the same time, Mrs. Reece and
I strongly discourage the students from leaving the camp for other
activities. Outdoor School is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
for sixth graders. Nothing else compares to this experience, and
we believe students need to be at the camp during the entire
week. Please inform coaches and other adults ahead of time about
when your child will be attending ODS. What if my child gets homesick? Homesickness is a reality for some students. Some students have experienced homesickness long before going to camp, and you'll obviously know this. What works really well is for students to know as much about ODS ahead of time as possible, which is why I always show the pictures I took the previous year, spend many days explaining what they do there, invite the site supervisors for a visit and a slide show, and encourage students to attend the open house. If you present ODS as an expected activity, if you are firm and loving, your child will do really well. What definitely does not work is bribery, promising they can call home (they can't), and promising that you'll come and get them the first time they are homesick. The nurses at the sites are experienced in dealing with homesick kids. One thing that really helps with homesickness is the kids are very busy! That is definitely the best medicine. Times when we particularly watch out for homesickness are meal times and before campfire. These are the "home" times at ODS and usually are the times we see homesickness. If your child has severe homesickness issues, please contact me so we can work together to form a plan. What are the showering conditions and how often do they get to shower? There are multiple shower stalls, each private. The kids will get two showers during the week, which works out to every other day. Sunday and Friday they shower at home, obviously, then from Monday through Thursday they'll take two showers. What do the kids need to bring to ODS? Here is a link to the packing list. In particular, the kids need waterproof outer layers. I've noticed in the past that ski jackets rarely are 100% water proof. The best outer layer is a waterproof poncho. They're light, easy to pack, and inexpensive. It's never necessary to purchase anything out of the ordinary or anything expensive. Borrow what you can. It's really nice to have hiking boots, but even those are not mandatory. An extra pair of dry shoes is really nice, though. It will probably rain. What should the kids not bring to ODS? The following items are strictly forbidden at ODS: money, electronic music players or games, cell phones, comic books, pocket knives, expensive jewelry, card games, matches, hair dryers, curling irons, makeup, or anything to eat including candy or gum. Health items such as sun block, lip balm, lotion, etc. are not considered makeup. No cell phones? How will I be able to communicate with my child? Except in the case of an emergency, you will not be able to talk to your child on the telephone. The camp has two telephone lines, one for the nurse and one for the main camp office. With 120 sixth graders and 20 adults, it is not possible to allow students to use the phones. If you have an emergency, contact the main number for the camp your child is attending. Likewise, if there is any type of emergency at the camp, either the camp or your child's teacher will call you immediately. What preparation is provided for students before going to ODS? Mr. Nebert will teach all of the science learning before we go.
This will be done in science class. I will teach them everything else...all the whys and hows and whats
of what we do at ODS. Can we tour the camp ahead of time? Can we meet with the site supervisors? Absolutely. The open house for Sandy River is Sunday, March 18, from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm. The site supervisor from Sandy River will visit my classroom to talk to the kids on Tuesday, February 28, from 2:30 to 3:25 pm. Parents are invited and welcome, but attendance for parents is not mandatory. Can we send mail to the kids? Yes. Mail is very slow, however, so you should post no later than Monday. Please remember not to send food. What are the addresses and phone numbers for both camps? What is Friends of Outdoor School? Friends of Outdoor School is dedicated to preserving the Outdoor School experience for all students regardless of a student's ability, experience, income or family background. |
What is Outdoor School?
