Lakeside School

Spring is always an amazing time in the Pacific Northwest, and for our students heading out on experiential education trips, this spring and summer promises to be packed full of adventure and deep, reflective learning. Our department has been busy preparing students for their upcoming trips, training trip leaders, issuing gear, and finalizing the details for them to be out in the field. These signature programs are a hallmark of the Lakeside student experience; whether they’re watching a beautiful sunset over the Pacific Ocean for the first time on a 7th-grade backpacking trip or living with a homestay family in rural Peru for a month on one of our Upper School Global Service Learning trips, we know our students have moments of deep meaning and transformation ahead of them.

The Middle School is abuzz with anticipation for and excitement from our 6th and 7th-grade outdoor trips, ongoing through the last few weeks of May. The 6th graders journeyed to one of 9 different state parks to learn about Western Washington’s natural environment, practice new outdoor skills like cooking, hiking, pitching a tent, and making the perfect s’more around a campfire. The 7th grade is venturing into the Washington backcountry to learn about backpacking and wilderness exploration, focusing on self-sufficiency, trail navigation, and leave-no-trace principles. For many middle schoolers, this is their first outdoor experience and encounter with the joy that comes with being in a wilderness setting without the comforts of home. It gives them an opportunity to practice independence, see beautiful natural environments, and learn more about themselves and their classmates.

Meanwhile, Upper School students are preparing for month-long Global Service Learning trips departing in mid-June for four different international locations. This year, students will be travelling to Costa Rica, Peru, Senegal, and French Polynesia, where they will live in rural communities, engaging in cultural exchange and service projects led by their host communities. (Note: The GSL trip to Tanzania has been cancelled due to the Ebola outbreak in Central and East Africa; students and their families were given the option to change to another GSL location or decline participation.)

Throughout the summer, the Upper School Outdoor Program will guide students through 14 different week-long trips across Washington and Oregon, including whitewater rafting on the Deschutes River, backpacking in the Olympics and Cascades, mountaineering on Mt. Baker, sea kayaking in the San Juans, bike touring across the Olympic Peninsula, and canoeing on Ross Lake.

Without the distractions of smartphones and other technology, we believe that students who participate in our experiential learning programs are more fully present in the moment, experiencing the joy and beauty of our region alongside classmates who will become lifelong friends. In this age of instant gratification, social media platforms, and digital excess, we believe it is important to give students a more analog experience in which they can truly be themselves, in real time, staring across a vast sea, huddling around a campfire, or enjoying those last waning moments of a beautiful sunset on a mountain peak. It reminds them of what it means to be human, how important relationships are to their growing sense of self, and most importantly, what they value. It is character education at its best, and we can’t wait to go on these adventures with them to show them the way.

Bryan Smith is Lakeside’s director of experiential education. You can reach him and the team at info@lakesideschool.site and 206-440-2833. Learn more about the different aspects of the Experiential Education program in this feature article from Lakeside magazine.