Feature Climbing Every Mountain

Climbing EVERY Mountain!

EVERY YEAR, GROUPS OF BURKE’S STUDENTS DISAPPEAR FOR DAYS AT A TIME, HEADING OFF TO A VARIETY OF LOCATIONS ALL OVER NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.

While these Outdoor Education getaways function as an escape from life on campus, the “curriculum” for the trips has been linked both to social-emotional development and the Burke’s academic program. Starting in third grade, the program’s challenges increase by grade level, becoming an annual rite of passage and integral part of every Burke’s student journey.

The Outdoor Education Program at Burke’s has a rich history that started in the 1980s. Bobbie Meyer, a Lower School P.E. teacher at that time, thought about how students had the chance to have experiences outside of the city’s urban landscape through eighth-grade visits to the Yosemite Institute and fourth-grade camping trips to Sutter’s Mill. Meyer wanted to provide similar opportunities to girls in all grades.

Her vision culminated in the 1987 purchase of the Mountain Mill House campus up north toward Clear Lake. For almost two decades, the school owned more than 200 acres of land in the hills above Calistoga, with trails, camping platforms, and a swimming pool. Over time, finances became difficult, and Mountain Mill House was sold in 2003. The proceeds from the sale were used to fund the full Burke’s Outdoor Education Program. “Once we sold Mountain Mill House, we identified outdoor/experiential education providers whose programming and locations were well matched to our students’ developmental levels and our program goals,” says Rebekah Wolman, Head of the Upper School. The trips vary in goals and activities, with the third grade beginning with a journey across the Bay to the Marin Headlands for a one night warm-up, learning to be away from the comforts of home. Third-grade teacher Joelle Auberson says, “We focus on team building, and for many students, it’s their first time away without their parents. However, there is also a strong link to our science and social studies curriculum. Before we go, the students study the Ohlone and adopt a plant in our Burke’s native garden. During our time in the Marin Headlands, they can imagine what everyday life was like for the Ohlone, and they also see how their adopted native plants adapt to a more rugged natural environment.”

Lower School Science Teacher Elizabeth McDonald loves going on the trips and enjoys seeing the different ways each student interacts with the outdoors. From a curricular standpoint, “The trips provide new context for what the students have been learning in the classroom and provide a nice touchpoint for what happens in science the following year,” she says.

THE CLASS OF 2020

BEGAN THEIR FINAL

YEAR AT BURKE’S

WITH A ONE-NIGHT

FALL RETREAT AT ST.

DOROTHY’S REST

RETREAT CENTER IN

CAMP MEEKER, WHICH

SET THE TONE FOR

THE YEAR.

Fifth graders got cozy with some slugs last spring on their two-night trip to the Web of Life Field School in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Susan Deemer, who facilitates the Makery for the fifth through eighth grades, has embarked on many of these trips with students. “A lot of these girls are always being told what to do and where to go,” she says. “On these trips, they have to manage everything down to their own snack pack. It’s a great time for the girls to show strengths they might not get to display in the classroom.” Fifth grade advisor Michelle Loomis agrees: “I love the night hike. So many of the girls are really nervous about going out in the dark and they come back feeling so accomplished.” Wolman says that the long-term goal is “for the girls to learn to work together, rely on themselves, learn what they are capable of, and also support and rely on each other. We also hope to instill in the girls a love and appreciation of the natural world and an understanding of the ecology and geology of at least part of California.”

Students from the Class of 2019 took a three-night backpacking trip to Point Reyes National Seashore last April. The trip is about meeting personal challenges, resilience, and a final bonding experience. The girls learn how they can rely on inner resources and each other as they get ready to

leave Burke’s.

Challenges that grow year by year!

THIRD GRADE goes to the Marin Headlands for one night as a warm-up, studying native plants and getting used to being away from the comforts of home.

FOURTH GRADE takes a Coloma trip for two nights as a part of the Gold Rush portion of their study of California history.

FIFTH GRADE spends two nights with the Web of Life Field School focusing on redwood forest ecosystems and interdependencies in ecology.

SIXTH GRADE spends two nights with Naturalists at Large, camping and hiking on Mt. Tamalpais with some field science and ecology education, and a focus on team-building.

SEVENTH GRADE has a two-night fall retreat with Naturalists at Large and a three-night spring camping trip to Pinnacles National Park spent rock-climbing, hiking, and learning about local geology.

EIGHTH GRADE has a one-night fall retreat at St. Dorothy’s Rest retreat center in Camp Meeker and a three-night backpacking trip to Point Reyes National Seashore in the spring.