Pitching Tents Far From Technology with Anderson New Technology High School

The name of Anderson New Technology High School (ANTHS) could lead you to imagine rooms filled with computers and kids fully immersed in alternative realities. ANTHS students do study core subjects such English, math, science, social science, foreign languages and arts, learning through problem and project-based lessons. However. the high school’s main focus is the development of “soft skills” which, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, are “people skills or core skills, nontechnical and non-industry-specific skills applicable to a wide range of tasks across many roles and professions, including interpersonal skills that enable individuals to work effectively in groups and organizations.”

Yearly camping trips take the ANTHS students far away from technology to an environment where interpersonal skills are necessary for survival.

Deepening Bonds and Enjoying Teamwork

Carrie Hernandez, a math and science teacher at ANTHS, explains it this way: “Fostering outside the classroom experiences has always been a priority at ANTHS. We do not currently have any sports teams. We all know the team building and camaraderie that come along with being part of a sports team. However, our students are very familiar with working as a team in the classroom because of our Problem Based Learning model. By offering experiences outside the classroom, our students develop a deeper sense of team. The camp setting lends itself to bonding with peers and bonding with teachers, in a different way than just in the school setting.”

Carrie continues, “There are so many great things that come from going camping with a group. The students have fun even with what we would normally consider ‘work.’ From setting up their own tents, to meal prep and clean up, to setting up the fire. We put together small teams of two or three for each meal. One team does prep and the other team cleans up. Each student is assigned at least one of these duties during the trip and by the end of the trip many are asking to be on an extra crew.”

Exciting Low-Cost Outdoor Excursions

The camping trips include exciting, planned excursions. When the high school camped at Pigeon Point Campground, near Big Flat, the group went white water rafting on the Trinity River and spent an afternoon at a nearby swimming hole. On their Big Lagoon trip in May of 2022, partially funded by the Department of Education TRIO fund, the group toured Cal Poly Humboldt, visited Agate Beach, hiked Fern Canyon, visited the Sequoia Park Zoo, and among many other things, played a lot of beach volleyball.

Carrie explains, “Finding ways to make our trips low cost is always a priority. We have another camping trip planned for August 18-21 at Lassen National Park. I applied for a camping grant with Lassen Park Foundation, and we were awarded the full amount, making this trip free to all our students.”

Overcoming Obstacles

Time in the outdoors gives students ample opportunity to handle the unexpected and overcoming inevitable obstacles helps the youth develop practical skills and build confidence. Carrie gives an example of the unexpected on their Pigeon Point trip, “There were these crazy winds that would come up in the late afternoons and we learned who had their tents anchored down good and who did not. A tent rolling like a tumbleweed got a good laugh.”

Katerina Domke is the program coordinator for the high school and helps encourage a Leave No Trace policy during the camping trips: “Students at New Tech understand how to appropriately dispose of garbage, with the mindset of ‘leave it cleaner than you found it’ and preserving what they discover.”

Holistic Learning

Terry Bennett, Principal of ANTHS, is thrilled with the camping opportunities for his students and says, “Overall, taking high school students camping provides a holistic learning experience that combines social, emotional and environmental elements. It offers opportunities for personal growth, relationship-building and developing important life skills that can benefit students both during their high school years and beyond.”

Twenty years from now, the students’ best memories will likely be the time spent with their peers in the great outdoors, far away from the screens.

To learn more about the opportunities at Anderson New Technology High School visit auhsd.net/andersonnewtechnologyhighschool_home.aspx or call (530) 365-3100.