LOTC Student Reflection: Challenge Island
Each week our students participate in Learning Outside the Classroom, a hallmark of the University School approach to learning. Students participate in 30+ field trips a year to experience everything from an artistic performance to touring a landfill, and visiting a religious place of worship to participating in a community service project. These outings provide our students the opportunity to link what they learn in the classroom with real world experiences, and they help our students become more engaged citizens in our community. On occasion, we also host unique learning experiences on campus. This week’s reflection was written by Bennett Gilhuly about his experience participating in a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) activity with Challenge Island Charleston.
“Challenge Island was fun! We build rockets and catapults! The IS and 6th grade had a blast; there was team work and lots of skills you need for some jobs. We didn’t really go “somewhere”. Instead, they came to us! Ms. Lawrie set up some fun activities for the IS and 6th grade! We build rockets and got to see whose rocket would go the highest (we had a tie). We did this because the 7-11th graders were taking the PSAT, and the 12th graders were getting Chick-fil-A for the PSAT test takers (a USL tradition).
We all had fun learning about rockets, and teamwork. It relates to the classroom by, one, showing teamwork and that’s a good life skill, and, two, building stuff could be a life skill (if your job is something like a engineer).”
