ENCINITAS — Students from The Grauer School, an independent school in Encinitas, have returned from adventurous journeys during their Fall Expeditions to New England, Guatemala, Northern Minnesota and other communities.
During the “Haunted History in New England Expedition,” students experienced parts of the East Coast through the lens of history. For the “Guatemala Expedition: Public Health and Language Immersion,” students provided non-invasive medical treatments to locals. As part of the “Boundary Waters Canoe Camping,” students experienced a real wilderness camping adventure.
Grauer students also went on other expeditions to Julian Outdoor Adventure, Washington, D.C., A Farmstead Adventure, New Mexico Arts and Culture, and San Diego Day Trips.
“One of the key features of an education at The Grauer School is our renowned, worldwide Expeditionary Learning Program. We set aside two weeks of the school year for students to immerse themselves in the world around them, push themselves out of their comfort zone and bond with peers and teachers,” said Grauer School Principal Alicia Tembi. “Our expeditions are sacred spaces that our teachers craft with care to ensure that our students have ample opportunity to ‘Learn by Discovery®,’ which is the school’s founding motto.”
New England
On the New England expedition, led by Mimi Robinson, Paul-Michael Ogburn and Dominique Bartoughian, Grauer high school students traveled to the East Coast to experience parts of New England and New York through the lens of history.
Starting in Boston, the students followed the revolutionary forefathers along the Freedom Trail, walking along the picturesque harbor to the wharf where the Boston Tea Party dumped 90,000 pounds of tea into the harbor as an act of rebellion and defiance. Additional stops on the tour included the first public park and public school, the Massachusetts State House, the location where the Declaration of Independence was read publicly for the first time, the site of the Boston Massacre, the church where one of the first public abolitionist speeches against slavery took place, and a corner bookstore that was the historic start of “The Scarlet Letter” and “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.”
The trail also included the house of Paul Revere and a cemetery with the resting places of notable figures like Sam Adams and John Hancock. At the cemetery, the students left a penny on the grave of Paul Revere for good luck. In the evening, the students enjoyed the Ghost and Graveyards Trolley Tour.
Later, the students visited the small town of Salem, which is primarily known for witches but also has an incredible pirate history. The students explored a pirate museum with artifacts from shipwrecks right off the coast.
The Salem tour included the “Hocus Pocus” house and multiple historic locations of the witch trials, including the memorial to the 20 innocents accused and murdered for being witches.
In Rhode Island, they ventured around the abandoned Medfield State Hospital and then headed to Fall River for an unforgettable tour of the Lizzie Borden House where a guide walked them through the infamous crime scene of one of the most talked-about unsolved murders in American history.
The final destination was Sleepy Hollow, New York, a historic town that is home to the tale of the infamous Headless Horseman, and the students traced the journey of the story across bridges, past the Old Dutch church and into the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.
“The Grauer School is at its best when we are balancing college preparation with expeditionary learning,” said Dana Abplanalp-Diggs, M.Ed., head of The Grauer School. “Our students just returned from life-changing adventures across the U.S. and around the world, but here at Grauer, learning by discovery does not end with the conclusion of our expeditionary learning weeks — rather, expeditionary learning is woven into our curriculum throughout the school year.”
Guatemala
For the Guatemala expedition, seven students provided medical testing and fluoride treatments to just under one thousand people. After months of educational and clinical training, the students experienced an intense nine days working with adults and children in both health fairs and schools under the leadership of Abplanalp-Diggs, Jessi Brown and Simon Checa.
Although none of the students were native Spanish speakers, they spent countless hours working to master clinical skills and the Spanish language phrases to work with patients. As part of the Spanish immersion focus of this expedition, the group received daily Spanish immersion lessons at the Celas Maya Spanish School.
After arriving in Guatemala City and departing for Xela, the students and chaperones stayed in two homestays in Cajola. From there, the group traveled to the Language School in Xela for an orientation with the Global Public Service Academies (GPSA) where they learned more about the program, Guatemala’s health care system and the root causes for disparities in health care.
At their first community health fair, the students conducted three stations: checking blood pressure, testing blood sugar levels and conducting vision screenings. The following day, the students worked at a health fair at the Primeros Pasos Health Clinic, doing medical screenings for more than 60 patients.
For their third day of work, the students worked with a local dental and public health team at the local school, treating over 400 students’ teeth with fluoride. On the fourth day, the students worked with the Centro de Salud and their dental and public health teams to administer fluoride treatments to over 400 children in two different schools.
On the fifth day, the students worked at a health fair, serving over 80 patients. The GPSA guides were impressed with the students’ medical knowledge and welcoming nature with patients.
Minnesota
On the Boundary Waters Expedition, led by Patricia Young and Trevor Olson, the students experienced a real wilderness camping adventure in the spirit of French voyageurs from 200 years ago. Throughout four days in the wilderness, the students explored the spectacular natural beauty of Northern Minnesota, a diverse region filled with several thousand lakes, interspersed with islands and surrounded by forest.
Split into two groups, all students paddled and carried a canoe over land between navigable waters while bathed in the natural beauty.
In Olson’s group, the students used a base camp as an anchor for hikes, night canoe paddles and fishing, which led to lessons on how to filet a fish and cook fresh fish dinners.
In Young’s group, the students charged through thirty-seven miles of lakes and portages, searching out the level 10 portages and the primitive management areas.
After finishing the expedition, all the students returned stronger than when they left — physically and mentally — and more unified.
“This cycle of expeditions offered many opportunities for ‘Learning by Discovery’ for our students,” said Patricia Young, expeditionary learning program director at The Grauer School. “With each trip cycle, our students continue to stretch themselves. They grow in their understanding of themselves, this planet, its many people and the interconnectedness we all share.”
