 Grades 3, 4, 5 |
 Grades 5, 6, 7, 8 |
 Grades 6, 7, 8, 9 |
 Grades 9 and 10 |
 Grades 9, 10, 11, 12 |
 All ages |
"The story of the twentieth century was finding out just how big and powerful we were. And it turns out that we're big and powerful as all get out. The story of the 21st century is going to be finding out if we can figure out ways to get smaller or not. To see if we can summon the will, and then the way, to make ourselves smaller, and try to fit back into this planet."
— Bill McKibben
Over the years innumerable teachers, parents, students, administrators and visitors from a variety of backgrounds have applauded Sea to Sky Outdoor School for the quality of its programs. It is what we do best. Close attention is paid to the details from beginning to end and the result is a learning adventure that is…
- Actions oriented — eliciting leadership, encouraging responsibility, profiling the power of example and the importance of exercising one's voice and speaking one's truth.
- Collaborative — encouraging sharing and teamwork, the power of cooperation and the over arching importance of community.
- Outdoors based — providing contact and connection with wild Nature — the greatest teacher of all, cultivating awe and wonder for the non-human world and developing a learner's sense of place.
- Transdisciplinary — emphasizing the importance of relationships, increasing appreciation and understanding for our interconnected and interdependent world and encouraging 'systems thinking'.
- Experiential — seeking out authentic, first hand, direct experience which engages the learner on physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual levels.
- Holistic — acknowledging that learning happens in a variety of ways. Embracing 'Multiple Intelligence' theory ensures that the likes of music, dance, theatre and art contribute to the Sea to Sky experience.
- Revolutionary — profiling the personal and planetary costs of our culture of consumption; advocating for a culture of connection; modelling small footprint living (small, slow and simple are beautiful!) and celebrating how less is more.
- Critically minded — encouraging questions and critical thinking; exposing assumptions we have about our world and the power they have on the choices we make.
- Slow — making deliberate efforts to create a 'slow zone' where island learning is not hurried and where there is active engagement in the moment.
- Compassionate — honouring empathy, engendering a respect for all life and reinforcing the central role of caring in creating a better world.
- Reflective — ensuring the meaningful 'digestion' of island experiences through active remembering in solitude and in small groups.
- Fun — encouraging playfulness, where laughter and humour are acknowledged sources of joy.
Sea to Sky Outdoor School designs and delivers residential programs on the Sunshine Coast, an hour northwest of Vancouver, British Columbia. Programs are 3 or 4 days in length and use YMCA Camp Elphinstone and Camp Fircom site on Gambier Island. DAY PROGRAMS are also available for schools which are close by, including the Sunshine Coast, West Vancouver and North Vancouver. Click on the following link for more information — Day Programs Poster
All of our programs have been designed and 'field tested' by Sea To Sky. Sea to Sky teachers deliver the programs, providing the opportunity for visiting teachers and parents to dive in as learners, contributing where they see they can.
"As a teacher of 20 years who has actively pursued extracurricular opportunities for my students I have found that what Sea to Sky offers schools has no equal. Its professionalism from get go is tops, its teaching staff are amazing role models for the rest of us and its programs are engaging, sophisticated and fun. I see each of my visits to Sea to Sky as valuable professional development and the learning for all of us, students included is of a quality that is both rare and exceptional."
— Teacher, Vancouver school
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