Wow! What a spread! Our 1st annual ALP Thanksgiving Feast went off without a hitch! We all had a great time from conception to completion. The day before the feast, the students collectively planned the menu; from loading the list with ideas, to working together to narrow it down to a final list. The morning of the feast, they worked diligently at cooking the meal together. Each chef chose a dish to work on or help out with. The kitchen smelled amazing all morning. The menu?: Roast beef, bacon-layered meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, wild rice, garlic brussel sprouts, corn on the cob, roast carrots, corn bread, whole cranberry sauce, apple crisp, pumpkin pie, and tres leches cake. The decorating squad worked on cleaning up the room, making a "tablecloth" and placemats, intricately folding napkins, and properly setting the table. Once all of the courses were brought down from the kitchen, we all shared around the table one thing we were thankful for. Overall sentiments were that we were thankful for the meal, working together, the great day, each other, and for the ALP. <3
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By Bianca Roseland:
MAAP STARS is a broad based vocational organization for students in secondary alternative programs in Minnesota. This last week, three ALP students were elected for leadership by their own peers to go to Camp Ripley (military training camp) for the MAAP STARS overnight leadership conference. I don't think any of us knew exactly what to expect on this overnight trip, though I know that all of us thought the experience was amazing. Through the help of one another and the inspiring speakers, our employment, social, and motivational skills were strengthened. We met and had fun with so many others who share the love we experience in our Alternative Learning Program. What was so cool, was how freely this was given to us. Stay tuned to read about how we plan to keep what we have by giving it away!! Wow, did we have a fun day today! With perfect attendance, we headed out in the early (and quite chilly) morning to Audubon Center of the North Woods for a day of survival skills and wolf ecology. We spent the morning discussing survival statistics and skills in the Audubon Center's authentic yurt (which the students actually worked on weatherproofing last spring). We then learned about fire-building techniques, after which all of the students broke into groups to gather the 4 different kinds of fire-building materials and worked together to build and start their own fires and to boil water, for which they were rewarded with hot cocoa. After fire-building, the students worked with their groups to find a suitable place for shelter and to build a survival shelter in the woods. The second half of the day was spent on wolf ecology where we learned about tracking wolves (and actually practiced with a tracking device) and learning about the wolf's place in the ecosystem and more about their species in general. Unfortunately, the camera's battery's died before the wolf session so our pictures end at the survival class. But ask a student about their experience and they can tell you all about it! Everyone agreed it was a fun and worthwhile field trip and is excited to go back.
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