TEA ADVENTURES
The Maine Event: Letter from the Class of 2022
A whirlwind of parks, experts, and trails, broadening our perspectives and uncovering the details of climate change in Maine.
High School Students Dive Into Student Designed Art at Great Basin National Park, NV
Student Directed Art is a class in which students learn skills of observation, iteration, and creative problem solving. Most recently our high school students participating in this elective class traveled to Great Basin National Park, where they had a chance to explore the expansive and diverse landscapes of Nevada and spent time honing their drawing skills by learning to use blind contour, sensitive line, gesture drawings, and positive and negative space to enhance their depictions of nature.
6th Grade Fieldwork Brings Social Studies and English Language Arts Coursework to Life
Bringing academic coursework to life through interactions with real-world experts is one of the cornerstones of our approach at TEA. Over the past year, we’ve been connecting with experts over zoom meetings or similar to help keep our students engaged. Fortunately over the past few months, we’ve been able to return to in-person interactions with experts both far and near. Most recently, our 6th-Graders traveled to Reno to meet with four different experts. They met with experts at the Lilley Museum at UNR and with activists Bin Bin Erwin and Khalilah Cage at Francis Newlands park in Reno’s Old Southwest neighborhood.
TEA 3rd-Grade Students Learn About Social Emotional Well-Being Through Horse Assisted Education
Ms. Colleen and our 3rd-Grade students traveled to EQ Insight in Washoe Valley for an overnight experience. EQ Insight was founded by TEA Grandparent Melinda Blackwell in 2009 to train modern leaders and teach teamwork in a dynamic world driven by a culture of technology. EQ Insight’s mission is to use horse-led training to build authentic and effective leaders and team-members, so they can make a positive impact in their businesses, communities, and families.
Fall Mountain Bike Team Season Update
The fall MTB TEAm has been a blast this season! The weather had been impressively supportive of our efforts up until mid October, but it seems like Mother Nature had other plans for the rest of the season! With colder temperatures seemingly here to stay, long sleeves will be the order of the day as we suck the marrow out of the rest of the season.
Cross Country Fall 2021 Mid Season Update
Led by coaches Alex Peugnet, Maude Meeker, and Matt Morrison, our Fall 2021 Cross Country team consists of 5th – 12th graders with 5th – 8th graders participating in local meets. With two meets completed, we wanted to share a mid-season update with you all!
How Can Journalism Strengthen a Community? A Hands-On Exploration in Sacramento and the Bay Area
Through expert meetings with a wide range of journalists and content producers in Sacramento and the Bay Area, our high school Journalism Intensive students recently gained a deeper understanding of the ways in which professional journalists and storytellers connect with communities. During the 5 day / 4 night fieldwork experience, students learned how a deeply collaborative reporting process can help strengthen those connections and ultimately the communities they are serving.
Middle School Student Crew Trip to Henry Coe State Park
The original plan for this trip was to hike into Desolation Wilderness, just to the west of Lake Tahoe. Then the wildfires changed those plans. We quickly pivoted to a new location, Henry Coe State Park near San Jose, California. After conducting background research and calling the park’s rangers to confirm what we learned, several backpacking routes and campsites were established. In addition, we were able to organize over 20 parent drivers to help us transport 75 students and 8 guides to the trailhead, which was about a 4 hour drive from our campus in Truckee, CA.
Learning in the Outdoors (But Not Necessarily About the Outdoors)
Sometimes TEA is described as an “outdoor education school.” Perhaps you’ve described it this way yourself. It’s easy enough to do as the stories we often share are those from outdoor adventures where our students rappelled down slot canyons or paddled down large stretches of water in an effort to learn more about uranium mining or immigration. The visuals tell a story of an outdoor education program, but the experiences in themselves include rigorous academic inquiry across all national standards (reading, writing, math, science, social studies) as students build background knowledge to prepare for these experiences.
2021 Commencement Ceremony Video and Photo Gallery
Thank you to everyone who helped make this year’s Commencement Ceremony so memorable! It’s with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to the class of 2021. Without a doubt one of the most unforgettable years ever.
2021 Senior Passage Presentations
As part of TEA’s graduation requirements, seniors complete a passage presentation where they are tasked with proving to the panelists and TEA Community that they have mastered TEA’s learner outcomes and are ready to embark on the next chapter of their journey. We are proud to share the Senior Class of 2021 Passage Presentations with you.