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5th graders experience Outdoor School

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The fifth grade class from Nancy Smith Elementary School attended Camp Grady Spruce, an outdoor educational camp on Possum Kingdom Lake, immediately after the Thanksgiving holidays.

Accompanying the 27 local students were NSES principal Jonathan Scott, fifth grade teachers Candy Balliew and Teri Antilley, and high school science teacher André Raymond. The group left the local campus on Monday, Nov. 26 and returned from camp on the afternoon of Wednesday, Nov. 28.

“We had a terrific time at camp!” Scott said. “It’s great to see our students in a different environment and using their knowledge they have acquired in the classroom in a real-world situation.”

Outdoor camp has become a tradition for the local fifth graders, and this is the third year for the group to attend YMCA Camp Grady Spruce, located on the shoreline of Possum Kingdom Lake, for the learning experience.

The TEKS based outdoor education camp allows the students the opportunity to learn while exploring the outdoors.

“Camp went really well this year.” Balliew said. “We had the whole camp to ourselves, which was nice.”

The camp’s facilities and counselors kept the kids engaged in learning new skills, according to Antilley.

Students were able to experience several activities including Star Lab, Fire Building, Man and Environment, hiking, archery, and shelter building.

“Students took several hikes around Possum Kingdom Lake,” said Balliew. “We hiked up Johnson’s Peak and Hell’s Gate where students learned about the formation of rocks, lakes, and rivers. They also heard several myths along they way about the people and land formations of Possum Kingdom Lake.” 

Balliew asked her students what they liked the best, but they did not reach a mutual consensus.

“They all liked different things,” the teacher said. “Most of them liked the boat ride, and many found the big cliffs intimidating. The hikes were rigorous and challenging.”

Balliew said that for most of her students, archery was a brand new sport.

“A lot were challenged by the archery, because many of them had never tried it before,” said Balliew. “Some wanted to just give up, but many kept working at it and improved with practice.”