The Outdoor Adventure Program at ACE has been a very important program to this school. This program is not as extensive as it used to be. The trips would be offered throughout the year based on the season.
According to our principal, John revealed, “The outdoor adventure program started 3 decades ago. The reason it started was to provide students with experiential learning opportunities.”
He further explains, “It also helped students build relationships with one another while going through the trips. There have been canoe trips, white water rafting in PA, Mass and NY, overnight camping in Sheffield Mass trips, the Appalachian trail, poetry hikes.”
This program can be considered beneficial to students at ACE because “it provides students with opportunities to take healthy risks. A lot of students who came to ACE talk about these trips as their best experiences at ACE”.
Many students do not realize that an outdoor adventure program exists at ACE. Our English teacher, Melissa, is also a former student and was able to participate in activities that are no longer offered. She explains “A big part in the program decreasing was the funding. For example, the ski trip in Vermont became very expensive over the years.”
A trip that Melissa would like to see happen again would be “the canoe trip because it was a fun trip and it wasn’t as intimidating as white water rafting.”
She echoes John’s thoughts about the value of the program and believes, “This program really helps students build relationships and community in the school. Individually, it can build confidence and get them out of their comfort zone”.
Hopefully ACE begins to bring back the program and hopefully adds more camping trips.
