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                  Outdoor Ed 2007           Life at Outdoor Education

An educational, fun and life-changing learning experience at Bloomington Junior High School is the Outdoor Education program that has now been in existence for thirty four years! To view photos and a movie of our program, visit the BJHS Outdoor Education Phanfare album.

This program allows seventh graders to spend a week in the woods (Monday through Friday) living in two person tents and cooking all food outside. Classes in all curriculum areas are of the kind that cannot be taught in the confines of a school building: pond investigation, survival cooking, campsite mapping, laying out a scale model of the solar system, archery and canoeing. A camp newspaper is published each week, providing the students with the opportunity to submit feature articles.

Family groups consist of teachers with 12 to 14 students who live in a campsite. Learning to live successfully in family groups is a major objective. Responsibility, cooperation, teamwork dynamics, self-reliance, and group bonding are components of this objective.

Evening activities are times to have fun. Campfires, scavenger hunts, carnival night, animal presentations on wildlife indigenous to the area, Olympics, and skit night have become traditions at camp.

Outdoor Education at Bloomington Junior High School is a unique experience developed by teachers and updated annually. Exceptional campers are invited to act as eighth grade junior staff in conjunction with teacher volunteers to staff camp activities. Junior staff nominees are chosen by the teachers on the basis of their performance in the seventh grade Outdoor Education Program. These students are given six months of leadership training by the school staff before undertaking these duties.

The Outdoor Education Program has been successful for three decades in part due to the willing participation of community adult volunteers. Every year volunteers are necessary to work in camp set-up, food distribution, clean-up, and supervision. The seventh grade PTO volunteer representatives may be contacted to sign up to help out.

Every seventh grader is encouraged to be a part of this program. Scholarships are provided for those who cannot afford it. Students may be excluded from the program for behavioral reasons. Outdoor Education is an unforgettable experience. Nowhere can it be duplicated!

Outdoor Education
SAMPLE CAMPER'S CHECK LIST:

• Suitcase or pack
• Sleeping bag
• Extra blankets
• Shoes
• Socks
• Long underwear
• Jeans
• Shirts
• Sweatshirt
• Sweater
• Pajamas
• Raincoat or poncho
• Prescription glasses
• Flashlight
• Boots
• Toilet kit (soap, towel, toothbrush and paste, comb, brush, etc.)
• Table service (knife, fork, spoon, plate, bowl & cup - these can be old )
• Pen and pencil
• Notebook
• Pillow
• Mittens or gloves
• Camera
• Warm hat
• Stamped envelopes

PACKING HINTS
First of all, don't feel that you have to go out and buy any new equipment or clothes. Use what you have, make it, or borrow from a friend, neighbor, or relative.

A.  As you gather the items on the list, don't pack them, but lay them out in your room.
B.  Label all items with your name. This can be done by: laundry marker, tape, sewing, or engraving.
C.  Use bread wrappers or small plastic bags to keep clothes dry. Empty bread wrappers should be free of crumbs. Bags should include an outfit for one day:

• 1 pr. socks
• 1 set underwear
• 1 shirt or blouse
• 1 pr. jeans

Choose bags with rubber bands or twist ties. Bags emptied of clean clothes can be used for dirty ones.

D.  DO NOT bring unnecessary items. Ex: Radios, electronic games, cell phones, etc. If found, these will be confiscated.
E. Sleeping gear:

• 1. A "slumber bag" is NOT warm enough.
• 2. An extra blanket with a heavier sleeping bag may feel comfortable on chilly nights.
• 3. Need a stuff sack for your sleeping bag or a "ditty bag" for your bath things? They are easy to sew. See your Family and Consumer Science Teacher for plans.
• 4. A plastic bag placed inside your stuff sac before you put in your sleeping bag will keep it dry.

F. A nail apron or terry cloth towel sewn up will make a handy toilet article kit.
G. To keep your flashlight from accidentally turning on in your pack, reverse one of the batteries.
H. Pack your items carefully.

• 1. Place things you will need later in the week on the bottom. Remember - "First in, last out."
• 2. Your poncho, eating utensils, pajamas, laundry bag, and flashlight should be easy to reach.