Nature Days Incorporating nature in learning is an invaluable experience for students. The MCCSC is committed to providing students with hands-on learning opportunities. On Nature Days, students learn grade-level science standards within an outdoor setting full of all types of “environmental laboratories.” Due to the hard work of the Sycamore Land Trust and Bloomington Parks and Recreation, grants have been secured for MCCSC fourth and sixth grade students to participate in this environmental education program. Fourth grade students visit the Griffy Lake Nature Preserve and sixth grade students visit Leonard Springs Nature Park. COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS
Bradford Woods The Bradford Woods Outdoor Education Program is a planned curriculum in which fifth grade students are given the opportunity to spend three days and two nights in a school setting away from home. Students look forward to this learning experience that has become a long- standing tradition in our community. Many of the parents of these students attended the camp as fifth graders and have fond memories to share with their children. Some of the camp counselors are seniors from ASE, BHSN and BHSS who remember their Bradford Woods experience as well and look forward to working at the camp in a different role. Fifth grade teachers eagerly return to Bradford Woods with this class of students knowing it will result in positive growth for individuals and for the class as a whole. The memories of these groups provide the sense of tradition that surrounds the Bradford Woods Camp. Not only is this experience valued by our community, it is an essential part of the fifth grade curriculum. What will students remember
most about Bradford Woods? It might be as simple as singing around the campfire, hiking to Gold Creek, using scientific instruments to compare natural communities, or watching geese in the early morning hours. It will likely be a kaleidoscope of memories that grow in the retelling as the tradition is extended to a new generation of MCCSC fifth graders.
12 | MCCSC
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