Fall Trip: The school year begins with all students in the high school working on a service project, such as Habitat for Humanity. The fall experience includes an opportunity to travel, to live together, to work together, and to study together. This information will be available to parents on August 1st so that everyone knows all details of planned events at least a month in advance.
Winter Intensives: During the months of January and February, students will have one month to participate in a winter trip or service project. This is currently still being developed, but will most likely require travel.
Spring Experience: During the last week of school, students will participate in an off campus trip or service project. This is still being developed.
Internships: As part of creating meaningful work and preparing students for adult life, Great River believes in offering the students internship opportunities. We are developing this program in the ‘05-’06 year.

Academies and Institutes

As we develop the high school’s curriculum, we are concentrating on Three Academies:

Subjects for all academies include: math, language, arts, history, Spanish, science, speech/rhetoric, and humanities. Each Academy has three main areas of learning and is shaped and supported by Three Institutes:

Leadership Formation Institute - Leadership is the act of personal engagement that affects current events. This Institute will foster a positive and creative understanding of the nature of leadership by helping students develop leadership skills through study, experience, and reflection.

Service Institute - Through service, students have the opportunity to learn from those they serve. In addition, they learn about social issues, responsibility, empathy, and communication. Service and the virtues it inspires are fundamental to creating and maintaining peace and justice

Peace Institute - Peace Studies focuses on students “being peace” through the study of peace, non-violence, conflict resolution, and people who work for peace. Students have the opportunity to study the lives of influential peacemakers from the past/present, and meet and work with leaders in the community and to develop and implement peace projects.

In this second year we will continue to develop the academies and institutes upon which our high school curriculum centers. The Entrepreneurial Academy and the Service Institute will be our focus.