Milkcrate Mapquest

So you have to solve a riddle by searching the school. The catch...you cannot touch the ground! My 2010 OP students had to travel around the school searching for clues to solve their riddle using only milkcrates to keep themselves from touching the ground. Their journey started in the gym, took them to the library, main office, cafeteria and games area before returning to the gym. The class learned to support each other, work as a team and communicate to solve their riddle. They also had a lot of fun...even though they complained in the beginning.

The picture above is the group in the main hall on their way to the library.

Prusik Climbing

My 2010 OP crew have been belaying like crazy to get ready for their big test...the "Monster" challenge course at MVHS. We started with some floor exercises and practicing with the SGB's. Then we did the Roman Ladder, which proved to be a little harder than the group thought it would be. Next it was climbing the bleachers with a 4 person belay team, then it was prusik climbing with a belay team.
Eventually the group will be prusiking and rappelling with belays.

The picture above is Ashton, Evan, Thomas & David as the 4 person belay team, with myself supervising their set up. For more photos of our group go to my webpage at http://bonarlaw.nbed.nb.ca/teacher/gallery/indoor-climbing

MVHS Challenge Course

We had a great day at the Challenge Course at MVHS. The students really pushed themselves, reaching new heights along the way.

We saw a few "sewing machine" legs, but with some encouragement from the team everyone was able to climb and take advantage of the course that was built over the summer.

Many students are still talking about their experiences. Congratulations to everyone who received their belaying bracelets! Great job.

New Year

The new is here and I have finally found the time to sit down and start this thing all over again. I really encourage all of my OP students to take advantage of the entries. Feel free to comment on them at any time...it's the only way that this will work.

Enjoy your semester and have fun completing your OP assignments.

Fundy Trip

Although numbers were a lot lower than I thought would be coming, the small group that did show up had a blast on the Fundy Trip.

Fresh Air Adventures were excellent guides once again, and provided a great paddle and snacks. They gave a little talk about the tides, the Bay of Fundy and we all got a lot of sun. We saw an eagle nesting and heard an interesting story of Mr. Hunt and his dulse gathering adventure! I want to thank Alan and his crew for a great morning!

After the kayaking it was time for some hiking. The trail we initially wanted to hike was Moosehorn & Lafferty Falls, but when we got there it was closed. So we decided to hike Third Vault Falls (highest waterfall at the park). The first 3/4 of trail was quite easy but the last bit proved to be a challenge.

So what did we learn? We learned...

...Jordan is not good at decending a steep hiking trail;

...the largest Great White shark ever caught was caught in the Bay of Fundy;

...saving two bags of dulse is not worth the embarassment later (just ask Mr. Hunt);

...the girls are faster paddlers than the guys; and

...ferns do not taste as good as fiddleheads (I still can't believe they ate them);

Geocaching

The 1st period crew finished their geocaching and everyone had a great time. I want to thank Trueman for scaring the hell out of me with the snake he placed on one of the geocaches...I hate snakes!! Other than the small heart attack my morning was great.

Things went really well again with the 4th period class. We had a new cache hid by Eddie Pinder and he also provided a prize for the person who found it. Congrats to Matt Comeau and Grant Sock!!

I would really like some input on how things went today, if the caches were challenging enough, shoud I make more, etc? I am also trying something new. If you want to post an e-journal entry you will not have to give me an entry in your written journal. It's simple, post a comment as your journal entry to this post; The same rules apply, be honest, be positive and be respectful of other posts/comments! I look forward to seeing what you all have to say.

Welcome

I just wanted to welcome everyone to my first Outdoor Pursuits blog. I plan to post photos, journal questions, up and coming activities, etc. I hope that it will become a useful tool for my OP students. Please feel free to post a comment. I look forward to hearing from you. :)