Outdoor Education

Children's Garden and Outdoor Classroom

Children, parents and teachers at Christ Episcopal School have been working enthusiastically to earn the prestigious Green School designation awarded by the Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education. Throughout the 2006-2007 school year, we have made great strides toward our goal of becoming a Green School. In addition to reducing our energy consumption and reducing our waste at CES, our greatest goal as a teaching and learning community has been to develop and nurture a deep appreciation in our students for the environment . Our new Children’s Garden and Outdoor Classroom is an important way to reach our goal of guiding children as they take greater responsibility for a small part of their world. Today’s CES students are tomorrow’s leaders and we believe that education is the key to changing policies and practices that can help our environment. View photo gallery >>

Fifth and Sixth Grade

Calleva Outdoor Adventure

The fifth and sixth grade classes at CES attend a Team Development Course at the Calleva Outdoor Adventure Center in Poolesville, Maryland, taken early in the school year to help new students in the fifth and sixth grades get to know each other better and help the students make a smooth transition into the CES Middle School. Returning CES students also benefit greatly from the programs on campus. The program is designed to improve the classroom learning environment by helping the students develop effective communication skills, foster cooperation within a group and enhance group problem solving skills.

Seventh and Eighth Grade

Echo Hill

The seventh and eighth graders spend three days at the Echo Hill Outdoor Education Program on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The Echo Hill experience offers the students a unique setting within which to learn new ideas and to develop new relationships with classmates.

The Echo Hill experience is grounded in the desire to have students live and learn closely with nature. From sensory exploration classes, to canvas platform tents from the outdoor dining hall, to the dorms surrounded by forest, the philosophy of immersion is present. Small hands - on classes provide opportunities for all students to become engaged and participate. Students explore the forest, meadows, ponds streams, marshes, beaches, fields, towns and waters of the Chesapeake Bay. With the guidance of the Echo Hill teachers, students learn to observe, incorporate previous knowledge, formulate questions, and draw conclusions. Adventure classes provide the students with group problem solving and they learn how to develop trust, cooperate, make decisions and communicate within the group.

Outdoor Education News

  • Grades 7 & 8

    Posted: December 5, 2007

    Echo Hill
    The seventh and eighth graders spend three days at the Echo Hill Outdoor Education Program on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The Echo Hill experience offers the students a unique setting within which to learn new ideas and to develop new relationships with classmates. The Echo Hill experience is grounded in the desire to have students live and learn closely with nature. From sensory exploration classes, to canvas platform tents from the outdoor dining hall, to the dorms surrounded by forest, the philosophy of immersion is present. Small hands - on classes provide opportunities for all students to become engaged and participate. Students explore the forest, meadows, ponds streams, marshes, beaches, fields, towns and waters of the Chesapeake Bay. With the guidance of the Echo Hill teachers, students learn to observe, incorporate previous knowledge, formulate questions, and draw conclusions. Adventure classes provide the students with group problem solving and they learn how to develop trust, cooperate, make decisions and communicate within the group.

  • Grades 5 & 6

    Posted: December 5, 2007

    Grades 5 & 6: Calleva Outdoor Adventure
    The fifth and sixth grade classes at CES attend a Team Development Course at the Calleva Outdoor Adventure Center in Poolesville, Maryland, taken early in the school year to help new students in the fifth and sixth grades get to know each other better and help the students make a smooth transition into the CES Middle School. Returning CES students also benefit greatly from the programs on campus. The program is designed to improve the classroom learning environment by helping the students develop effective communication skills, foster cooperation within a group and enhance group problem solving skills.

  • Children's Garden and Outdoor Classroom

    Posted: December 5, 2007

    Children, parents and teachers at Christ Episcopal School have been working enthusiastically to earn the prestigious Green School designation awarded by the Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education. Throughout the 2006-2007 school year, we have made great strides toward our goal of becoming a Green School. In addition to reducing our energy consumption and reducing our waste at CES, our greatest goal as a teaching and learning community has been to develop and nurture a deep appreciation in our students for the environment . Our new Children’s Garden and Outdoor Classroom is an important way to reach our goal of guiding children as they take greater responsibility for a small part of their world. Today’s CES students are tomorrow’s leaders and we believe that education is the key to changing policies and practices that can help our environment. View photo gallery >>