8th grade Capstone -

Experiential Learning

Hayden Valley Middle School

Hayden, CO

Amount Requested: 2500

Donation Amount: 500

8th graders will experience cross-curricular experiential learning through a camping trip to Browns Park and surrounding areas along the Green River.

I teach a middle school course called Exploratory. Throughout the year, we focus on hands-on learning opportunities to more deeply engage students in cross-curricular learning. The experiential curriculum builds on itself each year, beginning in 6th grade and culminating in 8th grade. The Exploratory class was created this year in response to a student survey that indicated 75% of middle school students were highly interested in outdoor skills and 43% were highly interested in learning life skills.

Because the class is new, the district was not able to allocate additional budget for the course to take field trips. We are limited to what we can expose our students to without leaving the Hayden community. With funding from the Nathan Yip Foundation, 100% of students in the Hayden Middle School 8th grade class (26 students) will participate in a spring 2024 capstone project which will include an overnight trip to Browns Park National Wildlife Refuge (and surrounding areas along the Green River) to participate in cross-curricular experiential learning. Students will experience first-hand learning related to geology, Native American history and culture in addition to project planning and budgeting skills. While visiting, the students will hike to petroglyphs and experience a rock climbing or white water rafting trip on the Green River. We plan to utilize partners including Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Yampatika and Bureau of Land Management during this overnight trip to maximize our cross-curricular learning.