Camping Trip Tradition Returns to San Miguel

Students embraced learning and adventure on the traditional start-of-school camping trip at Patapsco Valley State Park on August 31 and September 1.

Activities included hiking, arts and crafts, and a visit from a naturalist. Students also built solar-powered ovens and learned how to make knots and rope ladders. They concluded the first day with s’mores around the campfire.

The structure of the trip, in which groups for activities included all grade levels, allowed students to build relationships across classes. One student in the eighth grade noted, “I really don’t talk to the sixth and seventh graders that often, but this camping trip let us learn about each other!” Teachers also shared that the trip offered great opportunities for relationship-building with students outside of the classroom.

To prepare, students learned how to pitch their tents in PE class at San Miguel. The annual trip is a long-held tradition at San Miguel, but it had been on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic for the past two years. This trip was the first for all current students.