Lake County Gazette

An innovative program at Westminster High School (WHS), the ALPHA Adventures class, is taking student learning out of the classroom and onto the slopes. This unique outdoor education experience provided 32 students with the opportunity to spend five sessions snowboarding in Breckenridge. For many of these students, despite living in Colorado their whole lives, this trip marked their first encounter with the state's iconic mountains.

Through the generous support of SOS Outreach and the Westminster Public Schools Foundation, the substantial costs for transportation, meals, equipment rental, and even snow gear for the participating students were covered. This support allowed students like Aureilo Garcia to discover a new passion. "It opened up a different world to more experiences than he normally would have had,” explained Aureilo’s mother, Daisy Quintana. “I wouldn't ever have been able to bring him and all his brothers up skiing. "

To maximize learning, students were grouped by skill level, spending every week with the same instructor to build on themes and techniques from previous lessons. Each day on the mountain focused on a different theme: courage, wisdom, integrity, discipline, and compassion.

"Outdoor education is a great way to integrate these skills that you think are theoretical,” says Gabrielle Mattisson, a Social Worker at Westy who has been running the program for nine seasons. “But when you get on the mountain and you’re doing something fun, you’re not in your head about these concepts and then you can actually see these values. "

At the end of a beautiful blue-sky day, the Westy freshmen and sophomores brushed snow off their gear, laughing and joking as they prepared for the graduation ceremony. The theme for the last day was Compassion, and students and instructors took turns sharing acts of compassion they had witnessed between classmates that day. As students were presented with certificates recognizing their achievements, several were overheard strategizing about how they could participate again next year. If they maintain their grades and attendance and show enough leadership, they might get the chance to come back as helpers next season.