Character
From the Backcountry to Basecamp: How Fieldwork Strengthens Relationships By Carolyn Highland
Written by our very own 4th-Grade Crew Leader Carolyn Highland, this story shares a teacher’s perspective of how spending time together in the wilderness helps students thrive in traditional academic classroom settings.
Middle School Students Study the Balance of Power in Santa Cruz and Monterrey
Led by TEA Middle School Teacher Beth Vallarino, our students visited Monterrey and Santa Cruz to experience the impacts of plastics on our environment, the causes and impacts of homelessness, and the benefits and drawbacks of a vegan/vegetarian diet.
11th & 12th-Grade SOLO Mission: Done and Done
We are so proud of our students and their ability to complete this 48-hour SOLO. In the end, the students were better able to reflect on who they are as individuals and who they want to become. And most importantly, they learned that they can survive and thrive on their own.
Adventured Filled Kindergarten Trip to the Frog Bog
The Kindergarten x-country skiing trip to the Frog Bog was quite the adventure! It was also quite an opportunity for perseverance!! The kids learned how difficult x-country skiing on icy bumpy trails can be. Lots of falls, tears, frustration, as well as smiling, laughing, success and fun.
Urban Vibes: A TEA Middle School Investigation Into Homelessness on America’s West Coast
Our Middle School students are spending their Spring Intensive diving in and getting real with gritty issues that impact all of us. Students will be doing their May fieldwork in and around Sacramento and the Bay Area, investigating the factors and contributing causes to homelessness. This past week, these students used Reno as a case study for looking at what happens when people who are left behind by economic growth can’t compete with young professionals.
Heroes of High Fives
For their 6th-grade Learning Expedition, our students were involved in a deep study of mythology, its purposes, and elements. Students studied the archetypal storyline of the hero’s journey which has been repeated in literature throughout the centuries. Our students were then connected with several High Fives athletes to interview, record and narrate each of their hero’s journeys to create their final product book “The Heroes of High Fives.”
January 2019 Celebration of Learning Photo Gallery
The Celebration of Learning (COL) is one of the many wonderful Elementary School traditions at TEA. The bi-annual event is an opportunity for our students to share what they’ve learned with an authentic audience comprised of our older students, teachers, parents, grandparents, friends and special guests. If you’ve never attended a COL, hopefully, this photo gallery will give you a taste of the experience. Well, maybe not the chocolate covered grasshoppers part.
War. What is it Good For?
This past spring, the class of 2021 traveled to Washington DC to study war and its effect on society with their own eyes. They interviewed several experts including professors and veterans to formulate their own opinion on this controversial topic. Watch their video recap!
Is Water a Commodity or Is It a Basic Human Right?
This fall, 12 of our high school students and two of our teachers tackled the complex issues around water rights in their Water Scarcity Learning Expedition. To experience this first hand, students went on a 10-day immersive experience from the Hoover Dam to the Salton Sea.
Examining the Criminal Justice System
For their student-designed Expedition, our group of 11th and 12th-grade students definitely picked an interesting subject to explore. In true TEA fashion, they took learning out of the classroom and into the field to investigate the criminal justice system, high recidivism rates in the United States, and figure out how to support reintegration.
Pre-K Kiddos Go Cross Country Skiing at Squaw Valley
The Castle Peak Crew did a tremendous job of facing all of TEA’s character building traits during their cross-country ski outing to Squaw Valley. Each year, these XC ski trips are an absolute student favorite. They are the epitome of character building for these three and four-year-olds.