Contributed post by Julia Halbur

As a school, we always are looking for new ways to excite our students and foster passion about education. We offer an incentive field trip, once a quarter, for our students who maintain good grades and behavior.

When I told my students that we would be going to The Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Wyoming for 3rd quarter’s incentive, they baulked. “Isn’t that place for babies?” I heard one of them ask their 12 year old peer. Having been a staff at the club for years prior to teaching, I knew what high-yield, educational fun awaited my students, and encouraged them to be open-minded, and to have a positive attitude.

Immediately upon arrival, students were greeted with passionate, friendly staff, all of whom exhibited excitement that drew our kids into their programming.

Although only having my students for approximately 25 minutes each round, Timmy was able to snare their interest in a science exploration. His ability to build relationships with my kids in such a short amount of time was a delightful incentive for students to be excited for entering his arena. Every single child was engaged in Timmy’s science experiments, in fact, they were devastated when it was time to leave and join the next activity.

Following that, students made their way into the gym where they climbed inside Zorbie Balls and partook in physical education in a new, and exhilarating challenge- total domination! Jake and Ron maintained an incredibly safe and positive atmosphere, and my students, again were saddened when they were sent off to the next adventure.

Daniel, Pedro, and Jonathan followed up those incredible moments with even more engaging, brilliant, and educational endeavors. Daniel led the students through making French Toast, and was so energetic, he leaped over counters to gather materials. Pedro had a plethora of websites for students to explore, all focused on education, and Jonathan was so caught up in the overall atmosphere that he allowed students to practice their art on his face!

We ended our day by teaming up the Boys & Girls Club staff with our teachers, and annihilating the students in a Jail-ball extravaganza. (In truth, the students whooped us, but who’s keeping score?)

I can’t express how much fun and learning occurred today at The Boys & Girls Club. In fact, one of my students exclaimed, “What’s next? Sky-diving?” as we were transitioning to the next station. The staff were an incredible, powerful presence. In fact, our students are already begging to come back for the 4th quarter incentive field trip! Thank you to Brian for coordinating all of these activities, and providing an opportunity for our Poison Spider students that no other student in our district got to partake in today.

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Guest Author: Julia Halbur, Middle School english teacher, Poison Spider School