Evergreen Academy’s Outdoor Education Program is based on the belief that the skills developed and practiced in the outdoors will transfer back to everyday life.
Students develop a sense of place in the Pacific Northwest. Through their participation in the outdoor program, students experience the varied terrains of Washington State, understand the geography and ecology, and develop an appreciation for the immense beauty surrounding us. The program gives each of our students the opportunity to develop a personal connection with the natural world, centered in their sense of themselves in our local environment.
Students learn how to contribute as members of a team. Each outdoor trip requires students to work in teams. The success of the team depends on every member doing his or her part. Collaboration is required to perform shared tasks and meet shared challenges. Responsibilities are shared all around and therefore success is shared as well.
Students take physical, emotional, and social risks. In the natural environment students are pushed outside their comfort zone in a safe and productive way. Through those experiences they learn to exercise responsible risk-taking. These experiences challenge students’ physical and emotional limits, developing the self-confidence that comes with success.
Students practice problem solving. Each outdoor trip exposes students to situations in which they face significant challenges without predetermined or familiar means of meeting those challenges. In such situations, students learn to adapt and improvise to meet these challenges and predict potential outcomes and consequences. This ability to adapt, improvise, and predict will transfer to students’ everyday lives.
Outdoor Education (Grade 3)
In the fall, our 3rd graders travel to Mt. St. Helens with parents as partners in this three day, overnight adventure. Students get face-to-face with geologic forces and discover the amazing stories of plant and animal life in the heart of the blast zone. The hands-on and outdoor activities offer foundational knowledge, team building, interactive adventures and guided inquiry. Students will learn the foundations of basic volcanic geology – plate tectonics, volcanic rocks and lava, the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption, and on a hike students will use clues from the landscape to solve the puzzle of the eruption, and to discover how life has rebounded since 1980. Mount St. Helens is a living, outdoor laboratory.
Outdoor Education (Grade 4)
Islandwood is the destination for our 4th grade class. On this four day adventure, students engage in experiential and project-based fieldwork that appeals to many different learning styles and interests. Using the cultural and natural environment as a context, this program integrates scientific inquiry, technology, and the arts. Students will spend a majority of their time participating in hands-on, outdoor field study projects. There are multiple learning studios, a fenced garden classroom and greenhouse, and a team course that round out the experience.
Outdoor Education (Grades 5th )
Our 5th grade class heads off to Camp Seymour in Gig Harbor to explore ecosystems, better understand the natural resources around us, and improve outdoor and group building skills. Students participate in classes such as marine science, forest ecosystems, wildlife ecology, sustainability and the living machine, orienteering, canoeing, small group challenge as well as co-op course and climbing wall.
Ski School (Grades K-5th)
Evergreen Academy has a long-standing tradition of offering Ski School as part of our curriculum on four Fridays during the winter season. This has been a fantastic opportunity for our students and for parents to be involved and bond with other Evergreen families.
Classes are offered at Stevens Pass and all students in kindergarten through 5th grade are eligible to attend with a chaperone. Information will be sent home in the Friday Folder in early November each year for registration information.
Outdoor Learning
Evergreen Academy’s Outdoor Education Program is based on the belief that the skills developed and practiced in the outdoors will transfer back to everyday life.
Students develop a sense of place in the Pacific Northwest. Through their participation in the outdoor program, students experience the varied terrains of Washington State, understand the geography and ecology, and develop an appreciation for the immense beauty surrounding us. The program gives each of our students the opportunity to develop a personal connection with the natural world, centered in their sense of themselves in our local environment.
Students learn how to contribute as members of a team. Each outdoor trip requires students to work in teams. The success of the team depends on every member doing his or her part. Collaboration is required to perform shared tasks and meet shared challenges. Responsibilities are shared all around and therefore success is shared as well.
Students take physical, emotional, and social risks. In the natural environment students are pushed outside their comfort zone in a safe and productive way. Through those experiences they learn to exercise responsible risk-taking. These experiences challenge students’ physical and emotional limits, developing the self-confidence that comes with success.
Students practice problem solving. Each outdoor trip exposes students to situations in which they face significant challenges without predetermined or familiar means of meeting those challenges. In such situations, students learn to adapt and improvise to meet these challenges and predict potential outcomes and consequences. This ability to adapt, improvise, and predict will transfer to students’ everyday lives.
Outdoor Education (Grade 3)
In the fall, our 3rd graders travel to Mt. St. Helens with parents as partners in this three day, overnight adventure. Students get face-to-face with geologic forces and discover the amazing stories of plant and animal life in the heart of the blast zone. The hands-on and outdoor activities offer foundational knowledge, team building, interactive adventures and guided inquiry. Students will learn the foundations of basic volcanic geology – plate tectonics, volcanic rocks and lava, the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption, and on a hike students will use clues from the landscape to solve the puzzle of the eruption, and to discover how life has rebounded since 1980. Mount St. Helens is a living, outdoor laboratory.
Outdoor Education (Grade 4)
Islandwood is the destination for our 4th grade class. On this four day adventure, students engage in experiential and project-based fieldwork that appeals to many different learning styles and interests. Using the cultural and natural environment as a context, this program integrates scientific inquiry, technology, and the arts. Students will spend a majority of their time participating in hands-on, outdoor field study projects. There are multiple learning studios, a fenced garden classroom and greenhouse, and a team course that round out the experience.
Outdoor Education (Grades 5th )
Our 5th grade class heads off to Camp Seymour in Gig Harbor to explore ecosystems, better understand the natural resources around us, and improve outdoor and group building skills. Students participate in classes such as marine science, forest ecosystems, wildlife ecology, sustainability and the living machine, orienteering, canoeing, small group challenge as well as co-op course and climbing wall.
Ski School (Grades K-5th)
Evergreen Academy has a long-standing tradition of offering Ski School as part of our curriculum on four Fridays during the winter season. This has been a fantastic opportunity for our students and for parents to be involved and bond with other Evergreen families.
Classes are offered at Stevens Pass and all students in kindergarten through 5th grade are eligible to attend with a chaperone. Information will be sent home in the Friday Folder in early November each year for registration information.