Grade 6 - Ozark Mountains Expedition

Grade 6's inaugural Ozark Mountains expedition was a huge success and we are so excited to share what we learned, comparisons to our Smoky Mountains expedition last spring, reflections on our adventures, photographs, and artistic expressions over the coming weeks!

But first, I would like to send a big THANK YOU to our chaperones on the trip...  Alexis Mićić, Deanna Kuhlmann-Leavitt, Corrie Marks, Mike Taetz, David Fitzler, Matt Rollo, Josh Mandell, and Darren Haskell! Without them this expedition would not have been possible and I am so grateful for the time and energy they spent making sure all of our students were safe, fed, and engaged in the learning throughout the trip.  

THANK YOU also to all of our Ozark partners:

• Wyatt Layman (Missouri Department of Conservation)
• Dave Tobey (National Park Service)
• Josh Chilton (National Park Service)
• May Ann Mutrux (retired, MO State)
• Jim Newberry and Renee Greenshields (Echo Bluff Lodge)
• Rick Mansfield (storyteller)
• Ryan Chilton and The Faretheewells
• Twin Pines Nature Center (Winona, MO)

To recap, our 6th grade students spent the first five weeks of the school year preparing for this expedition.  They learned how to conduct various aquatic experiments, researched background information on the history of logging in Missouri, and how to physically and mentally prepare for an expedition of this magnitude.  

Now that we have returned from the trip, the next phase of the project is for the students to analyze their experimental data, write post-trip reflections, and compose narratives on what they learned.  Then they will use these artifacts to produce a mural display that will also showcase their art reflection pieces and a plethora of photos that will tell the story of our adventure.  

They will also share ecological comparisons they learned on the Smoky Mountains expedition and how these trips influenced their perspective on the world around them.  We are very excited to announce that this display will be unveiled on Monday, Nov 7.  We will also have the Green Schools Are Better display at our school that week.  This is a paneled, chalkboard display that the CDS community will be invited to write on throughout the week, so please be sure to stop by and see the students' work and add to the board why YOU believe in Green Schools.

As far as the trip recap... I won't get into a lot of details here in the blog, as not to take the steam away from the students' mural presentation, but I'd like to share a small chronological glimpse into our expedition.  A story told in only pictures... for more info visit CDS the week of Nov 7!