SKILLS YOU SIMPLY CAN’T TEACH IN CLASS Experiential learning is really where it starts and ends. It is about creating meaningful hands-on experiences that allow for trial and error and empower students to tackle new challenges. Outweek seeks to cultivate an openness to new experiences, and being exposed to new social situations and activities contributes to emotional and moral intelligence that simply cannot be taught in a classroom—which is why outdoor education has been successfully adapted for therapeutic purposes for at-risk youth and professional retreats. When girls step out of the classroom, the wilderness becomes a tool for personal development that gets imported into everyday life. “Taken outside their normal context, girls who may not be leaders in the classroom are given the chance to shine,” says Jeanine. Whether learning hard skills, like how to turn a canoe or tie a knot, or soft skills, like problem solving as a team to turn a bunch of materials into a tent, success here is guaranteed, encouraging the girls to try new things back at home and in their future.
EMPATHY THROUGH SERVICE Service at Strathcona is a great example of the strength of the partnership between our two organizations. Originally developed for SMS, service options at SPL are now offered to other school groups. While past examples have included trail building and cleaning greenways, this year’s service project was building a new backcountry camp at the site of a former squatter’s colony at Paterson Lake. Donna Holmwood, SMS leadership teacher and a chaperone of this year’s service project, was impressed by the buy-in from her young charges and how interested they were in the history of the community, though very different from their own. Although a fire forced the squatters out of their homes and the site was in ruins, the girls were fascinated by what was left behind. “Seeing the remnants of toys, plates, and clothing really brought it home for these girls that people actually lived here. They started inventing narratives from the traces left behind and were very invested in the work.” The same group later visited a local hatchery to help harvest salmon roe as part of population restoration initiatives. They also served at a food bank, actively participating in different yet ultimately connected parts of the food chain. “A family came into the food bank while the kids were working. It was a single mom picking up a birthday cake for her son. I think the girls really got it at that moment—not just the need but the human element in service, and that a small gesture can mean so much.” continued on page 16
At left, clockwise from top: Advanced hikers at Mount Albert Edward, the sixth-highest peak on Vancouver Island (two photos from Letong Li, Class of 2016). Service group students at a food bank in Campbell River. A broken plate found at the squatter’s colony at Patterson Lake reads “Happy Mother’s Day.” SMS Spirit 13