SUMMER EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

This summer the academic department at Mount Bachelor Academy is trying something new: experiential learning. For eight weeks, our students are engaged in four two-week intensives with classes like Shakespeare Classroom, Coastal Classroom, Oregon History Road Trip, Operation Recreation, CSI: MBA, Build and Destroy Classroom (physics), Music, and many others. Some classes are on campus; others involve travel.

For example, Shakespeare Classroom spent a week studying theatre and the plays of William Shakespeare on campus; then they traveled to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland to watch five plays and participate in workshops sponsored by the festival.

CSI: MBA never left campus, but special guests like a ballistics expert from the police department came and made special presentations to the students; then the students were placed in teams and asked to investigate a mock crime scene created in one of the classrooms. There was evidence to document and photographs to take as students worked to solve the crime.

The purpose of experiential classrooms this summer was to help our students earn more academic credit during the course of the year (students earn .25 credit for each intensive they complete) and to make the summer more enjoyable for students and teachers alike. It has been an exciting adventure so far.

GRADUATION and more...

JUNE 2008

June 19 through 22, 2008, Mount Bachelor Academy held its quarterly Graduation and Parent Seminar. Students who completed the emotional growth curriculum, many of whom received their high school diplomas as well, were honored by family, friends, and the students and staff of MBA in a heartfelt ceremony. Thank you to all of the family members, staff members, and the graduates themselves whose efforts and contributions made the completion of this enriching journey possible.
Mount Bachelor parents gathered on Thursday and Friday at the parent conference in Bend where they shared their stories; met with their child’s Mentor and Phase Leader; participated in experiential learning initiatives and a talk and discussion on Grief, Loss & Adoption. It was a full couple of days; the only reprieve was the reception Thursday night followed by the Rose Ceremony honoring the graduating families, and a drama performance by MBA students. These days of learning and camaraderie were followed by the graduation ceremony and a visit to campus for the reception and family conferences with the Mentor. Students went on off campus visits with their parents or home visits, depending on their progress in the emotional growth curriculum. 
Students on campus are participating for two weeks of Alternative Curriculum Activities before their next academic semester begins. Such activities include, a mountain classroom trip, a river classroom trip, girls intervention, trips to the river to swim, movies, Kah-nee-tah warm springs, just to name a few.

FOR MORE PICTURES FROM SPRING2008 click here