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Until the spring of 2020, each year’s 10th grade class had spent the first week of June at Camp Lookout in Northern Michigan using their geometry, analytical and creative skills to accurately survey and map a geographic area. Faculty and staff spent the 2020-2021 school year quietly hoping we could return to Lookout. When the COVID surge hit in April, our confidence in pulling off this trip faltered. By May, conditions seemed favorable, but we had to move quickly to plan the trip. By June, we were ready to go! The survey trip would happen, but it would be different from any in the past. Most notably, the usual location, Camp Lookout, was not a possibility because of COVID precautions. However, the Lookout folks offered a newer camp property to us, Camp Carvela, and it turned out to meet our school’s needs perfectly.

Our 10th grade students spent several weeks of afternoon classes learning geometry, surveying and mapping techniques to prepare for their trip.

When we arrived at Camp Carvela in June, students were ready to use their study of geospatial measurement and representation to survey the camp so that they could create a map of a portion of the camp property.  Like everything our school does, the object of the trip is not merely to produce a detailed map. First, the students applied their geometry lessons in a hands-on way by learning to use theodolites for surveying. The theodolite is like a telescope mounted on a tripod and a student uses the instrument to accurately measure the angle between two distant points. We saw students gain confidence in combining these hands-on skills with their geometry knowledge. Moreover, students had to work in pairs who were each assigned different areas of the property to measure, and all the pairs had to work together to produce the final, accurate map.

From the chaperone side, we could see the students’ teamwork and communication skills develop during their time at camp.

But that was just the purely academic side. After students worked at surveying and mapping every day from 9 am-1 pm, they had various activities and responsibilities. For example, the chaperones prepared and served all the food then students were assigned to clean up and wash dishes after each of the three meals. Again, more teamwork!

We were also able to take the students on a canoe trip down the Platte River to Lake Michigan and to a trip to Empire Beach in Sleeping Bear Dunes. Each of these experiences solidified social ties among classmates. During afternoons spent at Camp Carvela, students chose to read in hammocks, play instruments in the lodge, and swim or kayak in the lake.

We were truly lucky to be able to give our Grade 10 class this experience this year and are grateful to our faculty, staff, parents and students who all came together to bring this amazing experience to life!

This is more than a week-long field trip. Our annual Survey Trip is a week when work, learning, and play combine in ways that soothe the soul, increase confidence, and boost friendships.