Outdoor Education
Outdoor Education at St. Anne’s
Outdoor education is an integral part of child development at St. Anne’s. Starting in Kindergarten, students regularly visit our 16-acre foothills campus, St. Anne’s in the Hills (SAITH), located in Indian Hills, Colorado. This beautiful setting provides a unique backdrop for students to connect with one another and the natural world. At SAITH, students engage in team building and environmental education, fostering cooperation, problem-solving, and community building.
SAITH-based Outdoor Education Program
The SAITH-based outdoor education program builds upon itself as students progress through their St. Anne’s careers. This scaffolded approach focuses on various topics, including:
- Leadership
- Environmental Science
- Community Building
- Leave No Trace
- Outdoor Skills
Grade-Specific Outdoor Education Experiences
Preschool
Preschool students will begin their SAES outdoor education journey through seasonally appropriate exploration of the outdoor classroom and their larger surroundings. Students will observe changes in their environment, learn about how to be safe outdoors, practice caring for their environment, and find comfortability and confidence in outdoor exploration alongside their peers. Outdoor education at this age centers inquiry-based exploration and student safety in the outdoors. Students will participate in outdoor education on a semi-monthly basis.
PreKinder
Preschool students will expand their outdoor education adventure by adventuring and investigating the outdoors and natural spaces around them, beyond the outdoor classroom space. Students will be encouraged to explore new things, step out of their comfort zone, and find an appreciation for other people's interests beyond their own. Exploration will be done through the lens of “everyone is a scientist!” with different topics that vary seasonally. Students will participate in outdoor education on a semi-monthly basis.
Kindergarten
Students begin trips to St. Anne’s in the Hills in kindergarten. Students will participate in a fall, winter, and spring trip, and during each of these trips, they will participate in exploration-based activities to help develop their connection to the natural world and to help them understand their place in it. Students will be introduced to the history of SAITH with regard and connection to the school, church, and founding sisters. Students will learn about nature reflection tools, they will work to identify patterns and seasonal changes in nature, and will spend time exploring and adventuring alongside their peers. Kindergarten students will find all of their activities tied back to the founding value of “community.”
First Grade
Students continue trips to St. Anne’s in the Hills in first grade. Students will participate in a fall, winter, and spring trip, and during each of these trips, they will expand their knowledge of their environment through a lens of how and why people interact with their environments in different ways. We will explore how we want to interact with our environment at SAITH and how to be the best environmental stewards that we can. Student will continue to work on team building activities, as well as delve into activities that begin to establish a foundational knowledge of the different levels of the montane ecosystem and how those systems interact and connect to one another. Students will learn to have compassion and respect for organisms of all different sizes (let’s talk about soil and how it’s alive! Let’s look for deer and scat and tracks, how do we keep our SAITH system in great shape for our current and future communities?) First-grade outdoor education activities will all tie back into the founding value of compassion.
Second Grade
Students continue trips to St. Anne’s in the Hills in second grade. Each of these trips will build upon their previous trip experiences and will help students explore the natural world around them through a lens of humility and self-development opportunities. Students will look at how they fit into the large puzzle of the world around them, and will consider their actions and impacts. Students will participate in projects that benefit native species, like building and tending to pollinator gardens, installing nest boxes for birds of prey, and helping act as stewards to the landscape.
Third Grade
- Hike Chief Mountain
- Explore the ecology of mountain life zones
- Learn self-care in the outdoors
Fourth and Fifth Grades
- Participate in an overnight trip to SAITH in the spring
- Spend a day at Bear Creek Lake learning to kayak, canoe, stand-up paddleboard, bike, and climb
- Experience overnight programming at SAITH, connecting with community and founding values
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Sixth Grade
Seventh Grade
Eighth Grade
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Environmental Stewardship and Connection with Nature
Throughout their time at St. Anne’s, all students have the opportunity to learn environmental stewardship and deepen their connection with nature.
Goals of Outdoor Education at St. Anne’s:
- Foster a kind and compassionate student community
- Cultivate environmental stewardship and appreciation for nature
- Teach skills that allow students to feel at home in the outdoors
- Enhance the school’s science curriculum
- Explore themes of interconnectedness, life cycles, adaptation, biodiversity, and change
- Provide opportunities for team building and student leadership training
- Develop a deeper appreciation for the legacy of the Founding Sisters
Why We Value Outdoor Education:
- Research has shown that student achievement is strengthened by opportunities to use the environment as an integrating context for learning.
- Children who spend more time outdoors have proven to be more resilient.
- Nature provides challenges that enable children to find new successes, develop a sense of competency, and build self-confidence.
- Relationships with teachers are further strengthened and enhanced outside of the traditional classroom.
- Developing connections to the natural world and strengthening interpersonal skills are vital for children growing up in a digital age.