Notes from the Trail: Ninth Grade Adventure
Students in Grades 5-9 take part in specialized adventure programs throughout the academic year. These trips are integrated into our Outdoor Adventure Education curriculum to encourage problem-solving, leadership, teamwork, and goal-setting. These trips also help students develop strong bonds and create lasting memories.
Alex Hodosy, Assistant Head of School and Dean of Faculty, joined the ninth grade adventure to the White Mountains this September. This is what he wrote about the experience:
Henry David Thoreau may have said it best when he posited that “all good things are wild and free,” and Indian Mountain School ninth grade students had the opportunity to experience this sentiment firsthand on the annual 9th grade Outdoor Adventure and Education trip to New Hampshire’s White Mountains last week.
Over the course of two nights and three days, students challenged themselves and each other in the Franconia Notch region of the vast Whites, “hiking in” to the Greenleaf and Lonesome Lake huts in two groups. At these Appalachian Mountain Club-managed shelters, ninth graders had the opportunity to learn about their natural surroundings and the history of the AMC’s presence in the Whites, and, of equal importance, about the relationships, friendships, and bonds they have with fellow members of the Class of 2024.
It was in the most challenging moments–on slippery, rock-strewn trails some 4,000+ feet above sea level, two hours into an arduous hike–that students found support from the people around them and reserves of will power and determination from within. The phrase “challenge by choice” applies precisely here; with the galvanizing voices of classmates and faculty around them, each student chose to push themselves outside the familiarity of the known and comfortable. In doing so, they learned a great deal about the power of camaraderie and its ability to strengthen their own individual resolve.
The trip, however, was not only about the challenge. There were many moments in the huts, on the buses to and from New Hampshire, and even on the trail, for laughter, games, and easy conversation. These moments, too, allowed the class to find themselves and each other, building upon old relationships for some and forging new ones for others that will undoubtedly serve them well in their final year at IMS and beyond.
In sum, and to return to Thoreau’s quote, “wild,” “good,” and “free” were certainly in abundance during this year’s inaugural IMS OAE program. We look forward to this class’s continued growth and to more OAE programming throughout the course of the 2023-2024 academic year.
