Tag: outdoor ed

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Employee Spotlight: Robin Friesen

We are pleased to introduce our new Employee Spotlight section where you have an opportunity to read from some of York House School’s newest additions.

Meet Robin Friesen, Coordinator of Outdoor Education and Risk Management

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Robin Friesen, Coordinator of Outdoor Education and Risk Management

What has impressed you most about the students at York House School?
The genuine feeling of community that runs throughout the school. Everyone seems to be looking out for everyone on some level, and that spreads to all corners of school life. These girls have learned the meaning of teamwork!

What inspires you most about the subject that you teach?
Everything! Where to begin… I love being out in the world personally, but to be involved in helping students to get out there is even more gratifying! I have a lot of fun encouraging people to see the world as their classroom. Students are constantly inspiring us with their lightbulb moments on trips, and I get to share in their joy of having done something challenging! Also, we are nature, no matter where we come from, and no matter what else we are. To connect with nature is to connect with ourselves. To me, there is nothing more inspiring than trying to help our next generation of leaders connect with and understand themselves, their peers, and the world they will be looking after.

What are you most looking forward to at York House in the coming months?
I’m looking forward to winter, getting to know all the girls that I haven’t gotten to know yet, working on international trips with so many amazing YHS staff and attending a couple of them, hopefully planning some optional trips for our senior students that take us into the snowy wonderland of BC’s coast mountains, to hearing the piano being played at lunch, and so much more!

What is something that people might not know about you that you would like to share?
I live on Southlands Farm, come visit! My partner runs farm education programs, and has just begun a slow process of taking over running the riding school that his parents established a long time ago. So, before I arrive at school in the morning, I’ve probably fed some horses, collected some eggs, wrangled some sheep around in the mud, cuddled some goats and so on. I used to work in northern BC and the Yukon, and feel very connected to the lands of the caribou and the bright summer nights. I also once lived the life of a professional violinist, and I really love to sing. I’ll sing with you anytime, anywhere!

What is your favourite book of all time and why?
The Hobbit, for nostalgic reasons.

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Manning Park: A Winter Wonderland

ManningParkGr8_Feb2016-1501By Innara, Gr. 8

The morning of February 23rd, York House’s Grade 8’s departed on a coach. Three hours later, we finally arrived at our destination – Manning Park Resort. When I got out of the coach, I realized why we needed to bring so many layers. There was snow everywhere and the temperature was pretty cold, but the view made up for it!

We grabbed our luggage and headed to prepare for our first activity, snowshoeing. After we were taught how to put on the bulky snowshoes, we left for our three-hour hike. Even though the trek was tiring, it was definitely worth it for the astonishing views! When we got back we relaxed in our cabins, which was well deserved. Around 5:00 pm we started cooking dinner with our cabin chaperone. My group had chicken strips and for dessert we ate lava cakes, all the food groups!

ManningParkGr8_Feb2016-45After we finished dinner, we all went out for a walk in the forest. The sky was dark and clear of clouds, so you could see the stars. Once we returned, we stayed in our cabins and went to bed at 11:00 pm. Most mornings we woke up at 7:00 am and had breakfast, which consisted of scrambled eggs, cereal, oatmeal, and toast.

On this particular day, after breakfast, we set off in our ski gear for our skiing day. We were all put into different levels and, since I hadn’t skied before, I went to level 1, the bunny hills. I don’t know why they call them the bunny hills because from where I stood those “bunny hills” looked like the scariest things I’d ever seen. Once we got our skis and had our first light, we attempted the bunny hills and, after falling quite a bit, we succeeded. We broke for lunch and then headed back out for some more skiing. When we were finished, we headed back to camp and, after some free time, we made our second dinner.

ManningParkGr8_Feb2016-74After dinner, my cabin played lots of cards and then headed to bed. On our third day, we went cross-country skiing and skate skiing. Once we got our gear and practised trying not to fall over, my group headed out cross-country skiing on a trail. We fell over and bumped into each other, but improved our skills.

After all our hard work, we got the pleasure of trying skate skiing. That didn’t go too well for most of us. We fell over for what felt like a million times and at the end we had really sore muscles, but it was worth it. Again, our skills were much improved as almost none of us had ever gone skate skiing before. When we finished our trail ride for skate skiing, we headed back and fed some birds called Whiskey Jacks. It was really cool to have them land on you and we found out they really liked Cliff Bars.

ManningParkGr8_Feb2016-82For the rest of the day, we hung out in our cabins and played games until we went to a campfire and then some of us went ice skating. For our last dinner, our cabin had pizzas and lava cakes and our whole cabin joined in for a game of ‘cheat’. Most of us went to bed pretty late that night, but we all got a really good night sleep after our hard day’s work. We all got to sleep in until 7:30 am on our last day. Once we made breakfast and packed, we headed back home. Three hours later, we arrived back in the city with our phones, computers, and most importantly of all, wi-fi!

ManningParkGr8_Feb2016-25Our trip was amazing and I enjoyed it thoroughly. This was the best camp I’ve been to, but I was glad to come home and see my family and watch Netflix. Thank you to all the teachers who came with us and put up with all our complaining. Manning Park was a winter wonderland that made this school year much more special.