Colorado Outdoor Education Intensive School Program
Watch a 5 minute School Program Video in Windows Movie format.
Outdoor Education Intensive from Avid4 Adventure
The mission of the Avid4 Adventure Outdoor Education School Intensive Program is to introduce students to non-competitive active outdoor lifestyles using experiences that provide personal development (physical, social, and emotional), environmental understanding and stewardship, memorable adventures, and teambuilding, while addressing the needs of schools.
What is it?
The Outdoor Intensive is a one week outdoor education, on-campus immersion program that travels to public and independent schools. The Intensive moves from campus to campus typically bringing four portable "outdoor education stations". These stations include elements such as a 25' high mobile climbing wall, a 30' portable pool for kayaking or canoeing, mountain bikes and a portable mountain bike skills course, and an outdoor Leave No Trace classroom. Students will rotate through stations spending about an hour and a half at each. After school each day, a portion of the student body will be invited to bring their parents to the Intensive to participate with them. The Intensive exposes large numbers of kids to active outdoor pursuits and their benefits.
- Deliver a curriculum that addresses state science, literacy, geography and physical education standards in a fashion that saves class time and fits well into school scheduling parameters.
- Provide activities that develop students' judgment, personal responsibility, self-esteem and confidence.
- Create a group setting that provides teambuilding and new opportunities for social development.
- Enhance environmental understanding and stewardship.
- Increase physical and outdoor skills.
- Introduce students to non-competitive active outdoor lifestyle pursuits.
Camp Logistics
Four target "stations" will be designated by the school faculty and administration in consultation with the Outdoor Intensive staff. Every attempt will be made to deliver these specific stations, but if weather dictates another element may be substituted that will deliver the same or similar curriculum objectives. All durations and activities are age appropriate and stations will have a range of challenge levels that will accommodate a broad age and ability spectrum.
Outdoor recreation activities such as these involve some level of risk. Parents and students will be accurately informed about the nature of the proposed activities and will review and sign an Acknowledgement and Assumption of Risks & Release and Indemnity Agreement, which includes the parent's consent to allow their student to participate. Students will receive an overall and activity specific safety orientation that encourages understanding and personal responsibility. All educators have extensive instructional and youth experience, as well as current certifications in first aid and CPR. All of these elements are discussed in further detail in avid 4 adventure's extensive Risk Management Plan that is available for school or parents review. If you would like to review the plan, please send an email to info@avid4.com or call us at 720-249-2412.
What Students Should Bring
Avid 4 adventure will provide all necessary outdoor and safety equipment. On the one day of the week that your student participates, he/she should bring:
- Sack lunch and a snack packed in a bag with your child's name on the outside. If you are on the school lunch program, a "sack lunch" will be provided by the Cafeteria.
- Clothing appropriate for the weather to be outside all day. This should include rain gear (poncho, rain jacket, etc.) if there is any chance of rain, and a warm layer.
- Extra set of clothing and shoes packed in a day pack or bag
- Sunscreen
- Non-breakable full water bottle
Come Visit the Intensive After School
After school each program day, except for the last, the portion of the student body that participated that day is invited to bring their parents and siblings to the Intensive to participate with them. This provides a chance for kids to show their parents what they have learned during their day at Avid 4 Adventure, as well as an opportunity for parents to get a few pointers from their kids as they try the activity! We highly encourage you to plan to attend this after school session. Parents or siblings that wish to try one of the activities will first be required to read and sign an Acknowledgment and Assumption of Risks & Release and Indemnity Agreement. This is the same form that parents signed for their kids before the Intensive. These will be available at the Intensive, or you can download it from the forms section of our website. If you are participating with Avid4 Adventure during the day on the last day of the program at the school, you are encouraged to attend the after-school program on any of the previous days.
Avid4 Adventure utilizes parent volunteers to assist with group management and logistics during the Intensive. This provides a great opportunity to support the Intensive and to experience it personally. We will make best efforts to place you with your child's group if this is what you wish, but we can not guarantee that this will be the case. If you would like to volunteer, please send an email to info@avid4.com with:
- Your name
- Your school's name
- The day you can volunteer
- The time you can volunteer
Schedule
Each grade level will spend one full day at the Outdoor Education Intensive. Parents will be notified as to exactly which day their kids will participate. Grades will be divided into groups of approximately 15-20 students. Each element will be concluded by a group debriefing. Here's a SAMPLE schedule (times at your school will correspond with your school day):
8:30 - 9:00 Grade divided into small groups; Small group introductions; Teambuilding game
9:00 - 10:00 First Element
10:00 - 10:15 Snack
10:15 - 11:15 Second Element
11:15 - 12:00 Lunch
12:00 - 1: 00 Third Element
1:00 - 2: 00 Fourth Element
2:00 - 2:30 All Groups Come Together for Leave No Trace Skits
AFTER SCHOOL (1 hour, exact times determined by school; contact school for exact times) Parents of students in that day's program invited to come participate with their kids on the outdoor elements (optional); Kids can only come for one day after school
Curriculum
Our curriculum has been designed to align with the State of Colorado Standards for Reading and Writing, Science, Physical Education, Language Arts and Geography. We work closely with faculty to choose which programmatic executions will best suit the school and students, as well as taking into consideration what type of class time will be displaced during the Intensive.
To give you a more concrete idea of what we mean, here is an example of one potential programmatic execution for fifth graders:
Overview : Students will demonstrate the ability to create and interpret maps and to understand and apply the concept of directionality.
Boulder Valley Standards : Students will construct and use maps, globes and other geographic tools to locate and derive information about people, places and environments (Geography Standard 1.1.3 and 1.1.4). Additionally, students will use reading and listening to understand sets of directions, and to define and solve group tasks (Reading and Writing Standard 4).
Outdoor Intensive Objectives : (1) Introduce students to map and compass skills. (2) Create a group setting that provides teambuilding and new opportunities for social development.
Outdoor Intensive Method : Students will map and label the Intensive area, embark on a clue-finding hunt, and navigate through the Intensive, using their map and compass to get to each element.
Equipment : 2 felt boards, felt symbols (for mapping the area), dry erase board and markers, colored pencils and paper, compasses, and pre-written/pre-placed clues.
Delivery : The scenario is delivered: "(You) students need break up into two groups. Each group needs to create a representation of the entire Intensive Area on the felt maps. Without these maps, you will not know which Elements to go to. You have five minutes: Begin."
Each group creates a map of the area using the felt boards and symbols.
- NSEW directionality is taught, and directions are added to the felt maps.
- Each student transcribes the map onto a piece of paper.
- Basic compasses skills are introduced.
- Students are divided into groups of three, and are given their first clue; for example, "Go 30 paces south."
- Students follow one clue to another. Ultimately, all of the groups are brought together by the last clue. Each group's final clue is one piece of the whole clue, which sends the group on their way to the Elements.
- Students then use compasses to determine at which element they will begin.
Justification : Experience has shown that kinesthetic geographic learning is more easily recalled in future real world situations than two-dimensional map experiences.
Assessment : (1) Presentation of completed map and arrival at element. (2) Ability to read basic aspects of a map of Colorado such as directionality, distance, and major land forms.
All elements will be designed with the goal of delivering grade-level curriculum requirements. Each grade level will also create a banner, which will reflect their overall experiences.
Management
At the helm of avid 4 adventure is David Secunda, 20+ year veteran of the outdoor industry. He obtained his degree in Outdoor Education while working with Outward Bound and Outdoor Leadership Training Seminars, then went on to become the Director of Outdoor Education for the University of Colorado, running one of the five largest programs in the country (over 200 courses each year with a staff of 50). Following this, he founded the Outdoor Network, still today the definitive professional journal in the industry, before moving on to become the Executive Director of the Outdoor Industry Association, the industry trade association for the United States. He then founded PlanetOutdoors, a leading online retailer of outdoor products, which was subsequently acquired by MVP, Inc.
Additionally, Secunda has played a leadership role with numerous non-profits in the outdoor sector. Specific roles have included:
- Leave No Trace, Chairman & Founding Board Member
- Association for Outdoor Recreation and Education, Founding Board Member
- Student Conservation Association, Board Member
- American Hiking Society, Board Member
- American Mountain Guide Association, Accreditation Team Member
- National Outdoor Safety Managers Conference, Founding Committee
Questions
For questions or additional information please feel free to contact Sarah Pekala, Avid4 Adventure School Program Director, at 720-249-2412 or sarah@avid4.com. Or CLICK HERE to download an overview of the Outdoor Education Intensive.