Learning and Living the Magic of the Mountains in Winter
Help me give my students a bus to attend three days and two nights of learning in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
$3,341 goal
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
At my school, located in North Richmond, we believe in serving the whole child: academically, socially, and emotionally. My students are growing up in a neighborhood that has a rich history. Once an entirely African-American community, North Richmond is now majority Latino. North Richmond has experienced recurring trauma for generations, and each new student who arrives is the product of their own unique story.
Despite their life’s challenges, my students are curious, exuberant learners.
They crave and embrace new experiences that will enhance their knowledge and wisdom. My students are on a journey of growing their minds and hearts every day. At school, it can be difficult to experience exuberance and success on a daily basis.
A change of setting will provide an extremely rare opportunity for my students to experience the outdoors during winter, access rigorous academic content, and partake in this new adventure as a team.
My Project
We have the opportunity to take 40 students on a three-day, two-night outdoor adventure program to the Gateway Mountain Center, located in the Sierra Nevada mountains. On this trip, not only will my students assess the carbon sequestration capacity of local trees, snowshoe to a granitic dome on Donner Summit, and learn how the Sierra snowpack will likely be affected by climate change, but they will also do a solo hike, cook s’mores and do skits at the campfire, and reflect on their experiences.
This program emphasizes active learning in the outdoors that is cooperative, fun, and provocative--learning that simply cannot happen within the walls of the classroom or confines of the schoolyard.
Furthermore, my students will share this experience together--deepening their friendships and our class culture in ways that are not possible at school. This could be the only overnight trip some of my students ever attend. Imagine two students making snow angels for the first time. One, a third generation North Richmond resident, the other immigrated from Nicaragua two weeks ago. We grow when we step outside our comfort zones, and this opportunity will spark limitless growth in my students.
With extremely limited resources, we need all the financial support we can get to make this trip possible. Please consider donating and sharing our project with your networks. Your support will make a direct impact on the lives and futures of 40 children.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Pierce and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
