The Experiential Education Program includes every student in every grade at North Yarmouth Academy.  It includes a broad spectrum of activities and experiences designed to help each student build and learn skills of leadership, communication, self-reliance, and teamwork.  The experiences also help students build a sense of community within NYA, while allowing them to reach out to communities outside our school.  Additionally, the outdoor components help strengthen the students’ appreciation of his/her environment.

Woven into each experience is a reflective process where students journal about their experiences and make connections with other learning.  Students are provided a journal so they can reflect on what they have learned, as well as what they hope to accomplish on future trips or in future classes.  The following experiential education programs are in place for the 2011-2012 school year.

5th Grade: As part of the orientation program during the first week of school, fifth graders experience an overnight at NYA.  Students work on getting to know each other and coming together as a cohesive class through a variety of teambuilding activities.  On the following day, students travel to Portland Head Light and engage in a letter-boxing activity. As a culminating experience in May, the fifth grade class charters a Schooner for an overnight trip.  Students work together and learn the skills needed to sail the Schooner.  This is a capstone experience for their fifth grade year that builds upon their study of Maine history and the local environment.  Teambuilding activities are also included.

6th Grade: As part of the orientation program during the first week of school, sixth graders experience teambuilding challenges on campus and then additional challenges and low ropes initiatives during an overnight camping experience at Myers’ Farm in Yarmouth.  The farm allows students to learn basic skills of camping.  The focus of the program is building community and learning how to solve problems.In October, the sixth graders also spend a day on bikes at Peaks Island.  They learn about the ecosystems and geography of the island residing in Casco Bay. 

7th Grade: In September, the seventh graders go to Kieve Leadership School in Nobleboro, Maine for a two day overnight experience.  Students work on communication, problem solving, respecting and supporting others during higher order teambuilding challenges and high ropes course elements.  Students stay in cabins during the experience.  In October, the seventh graders practice their field science skills while monitoring the health of the Royal River.  This project is a major component of the fall trimester of Earth Science.  Students use field equipment to catch fish and macroinvertebrates to check biodiversity and water quality.  They camp on Cousins Island as a culminating experience of their field work on the river.  Finally, student groups prepare interactive presentations on their findings to share with parents in an evening event.

8th Grade:  Eighth grade students read Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Adventure about the attempt of Ernest Shackleton and his crew to cross the Antarctic.  It is one of the most gripping true stories about the resilience of humans in extremity.  The two experiences for the eighth grade students build upon that book. In September, the eighth graders go to Lake Damariscotta with Kieve Leadership School for a two day canoe trip.  Students camp on an island in Lake Damariscotta, using skills they have learned since sixth grade.  Students continue to build on their leadership and communication skills, as well as their canoeing skills.  Teambuilding challenges are also included. As a culminating experience of their Middle School years, eighth graders experience a two day, overnight whitewater rafting experience with Adventure Bound in Caratunk, Maine.  Students support each other and push themselves out of their comfort zone on high ropes course elements on the first day, while experiencing the extreme of whitewater rafting on the second day.

9th Grade: In a two-day program before school begins, ninth graders experience a two day on-campus orientation and an overnight hiking trip.  During the on-campus orientation, students get to know each other and experience higher order initiatives, as well as learn study skills and get oriented to their teachers and classes.  Students camp for one night at a campground and hike Tumbledown Mountain the next day. 

10th Grade: In October, 10th graders go on a two day sea kayaking trip with Rippleffect in Casco Bay.  Students learn how to sea kayak and navigate the islands of Casco Bay.  They camp on Rippleffect’s Cow Island.  Additionally, students experience teambuilding challenges, set class goals, and clean up one of the islands as a community service activity.  The focus is on stewardship and building community. 

11th Grade: Most NYA students have not experienced urban society.  For many, it is as alien as the top of a mountain.   During the winter trimester, 11th graders go on a two day urban experience in Boston.  Students will stay in a hostel at night.  During the day, they will experience a city scavenger hunt.  In small groups, and without the aid of accompanying chaperones, students will have to traverse the city to collect various items from certain places.  They will be obliged to work together, use their social skills to speak with Boston and Cambridge residents, and navigate the subway system and city streets. A similar experience will send them on a self-guided tour of parts of the Freedom Trail, connecting this to their study of American History.  Students also get involved with a community service project that takes them out of their comfort zone and requires them to experience significantly different lifestyles in America.

12th Grade: Seniors are focused on future goals and destinations.  The following experiences are designed to help students think about goals in an experiential manner as they reach the “summit” of their secondary school experience. As a culmination of their Experience Education and time at NYA, the 12th graders camp for two nights in Baxter State Park.  Students climb Mt. Katahdin and reflect on what they have learned throughout their time at NYA.  Students focus on leadership and setting goals for the future.