Class experiences outdoor camp

By Sam Waller

Nancy Smith Elementary School fifth graders braved cooler weather last week to take part in the Camp Grady Spruce Outdoor Education Program at Possum Kingdom Lake.

Accompanying the 35 students were NSES principal John Gallagher and teachers Leslie Neve, Candy Balliew, and William Vaughan.

The group departed Monday, Nov. 14 and returned Wednesday, Nov. 16, after spending time learning about a wide range of sciences.

The main benefit, according to Neve, is that students get to see science at work in a natural setting.

“The students get to have lots of outdoor adventures, which hopefully makes the lessons stick better,” said Neve, who teaches fifth and sixth grade science.

This year’s program included new activities that better fit the science TEKS, Balliew said. One of the new features was a trail called Animal Crossing.

“That covered the food web, soil rotation, and composting, as well as how to maintain and manage a small farm,” Balliew said. “They also added Lake­ology to the Man vs. Environment trail and discussed the pH levels of water and why it is important to the organisms in the water.”

Neve said there were several holdover activities from past years, as well.

“We visited Devil’s Island and hiked up Johnson’s Peak,” she said. “The kids also got to shoot at the archery range.”

The program allows students to learn while exploring the outdoors. Among the topics covered were local folklore, sedimentary rock, landforms, and water reservoirs.

This was the seventh year NSES has participated in the program, which draws students from all over the state.