This year's students were able to visit the School Forest today. For the past few years, we have taken the initiative to manage and care for the Hinckley-Finlayson School Forest by clearing the gathering area, grooming trails, maintaining upkeep of the dock, marking sick trees for removal, and other forest management activities. Today was just an exploration day for the students to familiarize themselves with the layout of the trails and landmarks, although we did do a little bit of grass clearing. Highlights: grass trimming, trail exploring, slug/bug eating, tree climbing, mudding, sledgehammer-ing, corn hole/bean bag playing, fort building, and five-dollar pizza eating. Today we were visited by special guest Justine Ward of Window, who came to speak to us about Healthy Dating Relationships. We talked and learned about the different forms of dating abuse, from verbal, emotional, psychological, physical, sexual, and cyber. We also learned about what we can do as victims and bystanders, as well as the repercussions as an offender. If you are unfamiliar with WINDOW, they are a fantastic local resource for victims in our local communities and you can find out more information here: http://window4victims.com/ or on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/Window-Victim-Services-Visitation-Center-101834796597961/
This morning in advisory we wrote down on a piece of paper a though or question that was on our mind, folded our paper into paper airplanes, launched our airplanes, picked up and launched someone else's airplane (2x), and then chose one to keep. We took turns around the circle with each person presenting the though or question on their paper as their own and then responding to it. We had some fun and interesting things to share! Examples: Do bald people use shampoo or body wash on their heads?; How can I improve my ability to speak up for what I need?; Are you smarter than a 5th grader?; Do penguins have feelings?; Can anything really be simultaneously new and improved?
The first field trip of the year is under our belt the first week of school! Today we headed out to the edge of Finlayson to spend time at Rhine Lake Retreat to spend the day building community. The quiet, private retreat facilities were perfect for our day. We spent time on the lake canoeing, kayaking, paddle boating, and hanging out on the dock taking in nature and conversation. We played horseshoes and football, spent time reading our novels, and had a picnic lunch and birthday cake. It was a little cold and wet, but at the end of the day everyone agreed it was worth it and enjoyable. On the first day of school, we introduced the students to our Empower Apple Orchard on the north side of HFHS.
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