Middle School Week Without Walls

Every year, usually in March, the entire middle school program moves outdoors as students participate in a Week Without Walls.  There are four primary reasons for these trips:

• To learn more about our host country through hands-on activities.
• To understand and appreciate the importance of field experience; to take a subject studied in a classroom and put that knowledge to the test in a real-life experience.
• To work closely with peers and teachers outside of the classroom to enhance team-building skills and to work together as a community for the good of the group. Being away from home also helps instill confidence and a sense of independence.
• To work with a local community and contribute in a positive way to the betterment of that community.

These trips range in time from two to four nights and are planned by the core teachers and administration.  Student safety is the top priority in planning these trips, and parents and students are given information far in advance in order to prepare for these trips.

For the 2012-13 school year, the following trips are planned:

• Grade 6 – three days in Lac Rose, Lampoul and Thies to study the influence of water, salt and soil on village life. This study integrates with the sixth grade Earth Science curriculum.
• Grade 7 – four days in the Sine Saloum delta to study bird and plant life in the mangroves. This study integrates with the seventh grade Life Science curriculum.
• Grade 8 – four days in the St. Louis region to study colonial St. Louis, the fishing industry, and self-sustaining cooperatives in local villages. This study integrates with the eighth grade Social Studies curricular unit on Colonialism in Africa.

All trip costs are included in tuition.