Adolescent 2 & 3 Experiences

These key experiences, part of the ongoing curriculum, help our young men and women develop themselves as individuals and adults by practicing different forms of independence.  Students are required to attend each experience, as they are an integral part of the senior high school school experience.

Fall Experiences: 4 days/3 nights

Adolescent 2 & 3 students participate in different experiences depending on their age:

• 9th and 10th graders will have a land based agricultural experience  for an orientation to GRS and Montessori education for high school. This takes place at the Land School in western Wisconsin, owned by Lake Country School, a private Montessori school in Minneapolis.
• 11th graders embark on the Northstar Quest during which they visit public and private colleges and universities in the Upper Midwest, engage in deep thinking about their future and have a hands on experience at the North House Folk School.
• 12th graders spend their week envisioning what their next year and the future will bring as they canoe with their peers and teachers for the week on the Namekogan River, paddling from a little river and ending on a bigger one.  This week will give them time to consider leaving the small and unknown and deciding how to choose their identity when entering a bigger world.

Each experience will include camping and cooking together, community  building and activities appropriate to their developmental needs.  Visit this website for one student’s view of the A2 fall experience.

Spring Intensives: June 2013

Students in grades 9 – 11 will spend last 8 days of school focused on a single area of interest.  These may be activities based in the Twin Cities, a photography or dance intensive with some time here and some time on the road, geocaching, cabaret or a backpacking trip.  Working together as a group here or on the road will strengthen the community that has been forming all year long.

Many members of last year’s senior class began their spring key experiences with a bike trip in 7th grade, so decided the perfect way to end their time at GRS is with a culminating bike trip.  Senior class members will work together with advisors during this year to plan their special activities for this final experience of their high school career.