Academy Community Building Fieldtrip

Oh my!  What a week!!  I can't believe this is my first day on campus since LAST Friday!  I will say though, even though it was hard to be away, this week demonstrated the power of this program!  Tuesday we visited Hidden Villa Farm and spent the day developing community, building trust and participating in a wide range of activities including a hike through the farm itself and into the hills.  On Wednesday, the Juniors were dropped on Ocean Beach looking over the Pacific Ocean before hiking 5 miles up and down and along the coast through million dollar neighborhoods, on Baker Beach and eventually under the iconic Golden Gate Bridge!  Although challenging at times, it was nice to see the friendly encouragement and overall positive attitudes as we confronted the challenge at hand!  Finally, yesterday we saw what happens after 2 full years together in the Academy.  Our senior beach day showed the comraderie that our students have developed as the participated in our 1st annual Academy Olympics, ran along the beach and played some highly competitive teacher vs. student volleyball!  Honestly, looking back on the last three days, they were fantastic!

Today I would like you to take a few minutes and reflect on your activity.  Below are a few questions you can answer, however, feel free to also include any other thoughts/feelings that come to mind.

• For your reader, please describe the activity from Tuesday in a few sentences.
• What was the goal of the trip was?  Do you feel it was accomplished?  Explain why or why not?
• Thinking back on the day, how would you rate your participation?  How do you think your level of participation alone can help you succeed at M-A and in life in general?
• What was your favorite aspect of the day at Hidden Villa?  Talk about a favorite moment or activity you participated in.
• What are three things you would say you learned about yourself or your classmates during Tuesday's activities?
• Restate your goals for this school year and how you plan to accomplish them - think about the dream-boards you created.
• What, if anything, would you have changed about the day at Hidden Villa?  What do you think would make a successful "community building" day?

Again, above are a series of question you can/should respond to but feel free to add any additional comments about your experience.  Thank you for a thorough and thoughtful response.