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Blue Jay Point

Ecology and Literacy Retreat

Dear Parents and Guardians,

An opportunity has arisen to allow your child to participate in an outdoor science literacy program. The "Eco Enrichment Retreat" is an advanced environmental studies field trip. It is designed for AG sixth graders, and is educationally based. The retreat focus combines environmental issues and literacy skills. Students will chose either "Flush" or "Touching Spirit Bear," as their selected book to read during the retreat. Students will be provided with the book at the lodge and will be able to take the book home with them. Students who finish early may choose the other book to take home. Please, let us know if your child has read both books so that we may have an alternative on hand. The listed book selections connect to our environmental studies activities and labs. The teachers running the project are Mrs. Susan Sigmon, Guidance, Lead Counselor, and I, Ms. April Grybosky, AG Teacher. Additionally, each group of sixth graders will have an eighth grade student assigned as a counselor to mentor the group. One of the concerns which prompted the trip is the need to nurture our sixth graders as they continue to adjust to the transition of middle school, while fostering our own school community, through the International Baccalaureate Philosophy and areas of interaction. The over arching educational objectives are to maximize learning on ecological topics and connect those topics to literature. Experiential learning, taking students outside of the typical school routine and immersing them into their topics to study, often allows for optimum learning. For more information on Blue Jay Point County Park please visit their website http://www.wakegov.com/parks/bluejay/default.htm.

The field trip is scheduled for November 19-21, 2008. The location is Blue Jay Point County Park and sleeping arrangements are at the park lodge. Students will attend school November 19, 2008, and will meet in Modular Classroom 617 at 11:45 AM, then at 12 noon will board the WCPSS bus to be transported to Blue Jay Point, and will return back to school on Friday, November 21, 2008, at 1:00PM. We will return by 1:00 pm the latest. Please make arrangements to pick up your child or have your child take the bus home. The fee for the field trip is $40.00 this is to help off set the cost of educational materials, lodge expenses, food, and transportation. If the fee is the only concern please call me and let me know, as we want all students to have equal access.

There are 5 openings for parents to volunteer who are willing to spend the night, and of course many opportunities for parents to come out and assist with meal preparations. We must have two male chaperones in order to hold this field trip. Please e-mail if interested in volunteering. If you would like to help, but can not chaperone please feel free to send in drinks or healthy snacks with you child's permission slips. There are only 24 openings. The first twenty four permission slips returned to Ms. Grybosky in modular classroom 617, starting on November 5, 2008, at 7:00 AM will be the 24 students who will attend. Please see the attached itinerary for specific details. Please direct any further questions to agrybosky@wcpss.net. I look forward to making connections and working with students at a level which is difficult to reach in the traditional school setting.

Sincerely,

Ms. April Grybosky, AG Coordinator

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