Camping together is the way we start our year.  We get together for a week to plan, agree on our laws, apply for our jobs, get our systems set up, elect our tribal leaders and get to know each other.   We come away from that first week connected.  I love having this time to get to know my students as people, and to begin our work for the year together. 
Right:  Jonah and the dinner crew making pasta.
Below left:  Gary and the early morning breakfast crew.
Below:  Lina, Kahvi and Will chop veggies with Reka.  Gary supervises. 
In the afternoons, we swim, dig, read, catch lizards, hang out, and become friends. 

 
Students spend their mornings in classes.   They discuss the qualities of leadership and the attributes of successful students. They learn mediation and set up school systems.  They plan, cook, and work on projects together.
At night, students vote on legislation that they write in committees in the afternoons.   Modifications to our constitution and new laws for our handbook are hammered out around the campfire.  

Back-To-School Camping Trip 
Camp Mattole
      
Beginning of School Camping Trip -  2011
 
 
 
We leave Tuesday, August 30th for a four day trip to Camp Mattole near Petrolia.   Parents are responsible for getting students to and from the camp.   Most parents are carpooling and we are driving down together.   Let me know if you have room in your car, or if your student needs a space in someone else’s car.  We leave from the school at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, and will leave from the camp Friday before noon.   Drivers should plan to arrive at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday and 11:00 a.m. on Friday so that we have time to load up.  
Camp Mattole has little red cabins along the Mattole River with bunkbeds.  There’s a big kitchen and several classroom spaces.   We’ll spend our days doing some hands-on science, writing our student handbook and updating our Constitution, exploring the river, getting to know each other, and setting some goals for the year.   There will be a regular schedule with “school” assignments, but there will also be a lot of fun. 
  You can reach us on my cell phone 498-1770, and at the camp phone 629-3308.  
                        
                                       
 
Driving directions to Mattole Camp & Retreat Center 
66.6 mi – about 2 hours 9 mins
 
1. Take Hiway 101 South to the Ferndale Exit
2.Drive through Ferndale on Main Street
3.Turn right on Bluff Street/Ocean Ave
4.Turn left almost immediately up the hill on Wildcat Avenue
5.This becomes Mattole Road and you stay on it for about 36 miles
6.Camp Mattole is on your left, up a dirt road right before a bridge.
 
 
 
Camping 2011
 
Tuesday, August 30th:
 
9:00 Arrive at school.
 
10:00 Leave from Laurel Tree  Learning Center  
12:30 Arrive at camp, eat our sack lunch, unpack, go over boundaries, go swimming at the river.
 
Join the daily schedule in progress –
 
 
 
Daily Schedule:
 
8:00 Breakfast
 
8:45 Cabin inspections
 
9:00- 10:00 We’ll break into five groups for activities, including planning our projects for the year, reviewing and writing legislation, mediation training, cooking class, and science activities .
10:15 -11:15 Rotate groups
 
11:30 – 12:30 Rotate groups
 
12:30 Lunch
 
1:00 Literacy hour – writing, reading or thinking (also called napping) in your ownbunk.
2:00 River time!  Put on your sunscreen and we’ll swim, play, hunt for frogs and turtles, etc.
 
4:00 Snack
 
4:15–5:15 Afternoon Rotation
 
5:15-6:15  Afternoon Rotation
 
6:30 Dinner
 
8:00 Campfire/committee presentations.
 
9:00 Get ready for bed, read aloud time.
 
10:00 Lights out!   Special late night sessions for High School planning.
 
 
Friday, September 2rd
8:00 Breakfast
 
10:00 All gear out and ready to be loaded into cars, campground cleaned
 
11:00 Parents arrive to pick up
 
12:00 Lunch, loading cars and hitting the road.
2:30 Arrival at Laurel Tree.  Any parents not driving, please pick up your students there no later than three.
 


Emergency numbers:  Brenda’s Cell phone (707) 498-1770, Camp Mattole (707) 629-3308
  
 
Packing List:
 
 
 
Lunch for Tuesday
 
 
 
Water bottle
 
 
 
Sleeping bag and pillow
 
 
 
Four summer outfits
 
 
 
Underwear and socks
 
 
 
One warm sweater/jacket for evenings
 
 
 
Swimsuit and towel
 
 
 
Water shoes or old tennis shoes for wearing in the river – not flipflops!
 
 
 
Toothpaste and toothbrush
 
 
 
Hairbrush/Soap/Shampoo
 
 
 
A book to read
 
 
 
One spiral notebook and pencils
 
 
 
Sunscreen/sun hat
 
 
 
Insect repellent
 
 
 
Flashlight
 
 
 
Any medication the student is currently taking w/instructions in a Ziploc.
 
 
 
The permission slip mailed in your back-to-school letter

 $25.00 for food
      
Driving directions, a packing list and a daily schedule are at the bottom of this page.  Scroll down past the pictures.