Every year, Chapman school eighth graders go on a trip outside their local community. This school year is no different, except students will head outside the state for the first time to Yellowstone National Park.
Chapman School’s thirteen eighth graders have spent the school year raising money for their annual trip. This year, they were selected to participate in Expedition Yellowstone, a program through Yellowstone National Park that takes place in the spring.
Chapman students are the first class from Alaska chosen by the program and the first class at Chapman to leave the state for their trip.
Heidi Stokes is an administrator at Chapman. She said students decide on the destination for the trip while they’re in seventh grade, and these students had lofty goals.
“We had some students that had more of a wider view,” she said, “and if they're opening it up, let's just let's see what we can do.”
After deciding on Yellowstone, teachers applied for the program and got accepted last summer.
Stokes said students will be doing more than sightseeing.
“It's going to be a really exciting trip, and hopefully our students will become better stewards of our land after,” she said, “I think that's the big goal is to see this is a preserved piece of land and we might not have a preserve like that, but it's important that we all work together to make sure that the land is preserved and well cared for.”
Chapman fifth grade teacher Laura Anderson is acting as a liaison between the school, program and Kenai Peninsula Borough school district. She said students are currently learning about the historical and scientific context behind the national park. Once they arrive, they’ll stay at Lamar Buffalo Ranch and expand on what they learned in the classroom.
“We will be doing everything from measuring temperatures of hot springs. It could be hiking and snowshoe hiking, depending on the snow, definitely observing wildlife,” Anderson said.
The program will allow students to see parts of the national park that are closed to the public while building lifelong skills such as cooking and cleaning.
From childcare to bake sales, the students have been hard at work raising money for the trip. They recently passed the halfway point to their twenty thousand dollar goal that covers airfare, ground transportation, and lodging, as well as giving next year’s eighth graders a head start on fundraising for whatever trip they decide to take.
Anderson and Stokes both have eighth graders in Chapman this year. Anderson said she’s excited to see her son experience life outside Anchor Point and develop skills for going into high school.
“I think this is one very true tangible way that can help prepare my student for what's to come in high school and having more independence and responsibility and what is required,” she said.
If students raise enough money, they’ll be set to go to Yellowstone next year at the end of March.
