Bonding through Outdoor Adventures at Princeton-Blairstown Center
Bonding through Outdoor Adventures at Princeton-Blairstown Center
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Each October, Harlem Academy middle school students head to Princeton-Blairstown Center for a 3-day overnight trip filled with team-building exercises, physical challenges, and outdoor educational activities. It’s a chance for students to get out of the city they know so well and into the wilderness. For many students, it’s their first time doing something like this. But by eighth grade, they take pride in growing familiar with all that nature has in store. Through the experience, they strengthen bonds with classmates, build valuable leadership and teamwork skills, and explore new corners of their world.
Sixth graders kicked things off by working together to build a group marble run.Eighth graders were challenged to make it through the rope “spider web” without touching the ropes.Seventh graders found a shady spot to debrief after a morning activity.Eighth graders prepared for another ropes course exercise.Gathering around a campfire was a great end to the fifth graders’ first day at PBC.On the tire swing section of the ropes course, students had to make it from one tire swing to the next without touching the ground. Eighth grader Miles took a shot at it here with spotters looking on.Seventh graders worked on their wilderness orientation skills, using compasses on this hikeIn this activity, sixth graders tried to stay connected while balancing on increasingly distant cords. The students below their arms acted as spottersThe seventh grade class got their helmets on in preparation for rappelling down a tall dam.Seventh grader Malik has a go at rappelling down the dam as a couple of friends look onStudents spent some time among the trees on the high ropes course.