Our AAA is underway.
We opened the program with a visit to Upland Hills School in northern Oakland County. UHS is a small, progressive school, just about our size: they have 17 students in their 7-8 class. They also have a series of Howell-like woods activities, including two zip-wires, a climbing wall, and a low-ropes course.
On Friday, October 4, we travelled to UHS for pizza, gaga ball, and outdoor exercise. Aristea, Ryan, Jianmarco and Saul stole the show by flying through the air on the high zip-wire, but all of the kids toured the campus, tried out one or more of the activities, participated in the Friday afternoon all-school ball game, a sort of amped-up capture the flag in a grassy meadow, and made connections.
It wasn't a conventional away game, which is part of the point. I played a lot of away games in school, but I never wrote a thank-you note afterward. Ours was happily received by the folks at UHS, and we are in the process of scheduling their return visit for a round of playground parkour, a tour of County Farm Park, and some mapping out of where our own equipment might be built, once our students write the project proposal that is the required first step for such an endeavor.
In other news, we are scheduling home-and-away visits with the Friends School of Detroit and a soccer workshop with professional player Kevin Taylor. We have identified two possible Washtenaw County schools to possibly step in for original partner Clonlara. More to come, of course.
Since SK now has a Mascot? Will SK be initiating Spirit Week?
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