Howard - Facilities |
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DINING HALL
The dining hall at Howard is centrally located, with the cabin areas close by. The core of the site is moderately flat. Unpaved logging roads access most field study areas. Students, high school Student Leaders, Staff, and Teachers eat family style in the spacious dining hall. Hot, varied, and nutritious meals are prepared by our professional kitchen staff, and students are assigned to help set the tables, deliver and serve the food during the meal, and clean up after the meal on a rotating basis. The dining hall serves as a central hub of activity throughout the day. Students participate in a ceremonial raising and lowering of the flag each morning and evening, and evening campfire programs are held in a community building near the dining hall in case of inclement weather. |
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CABINS AND RESTROOMS
There are four separate cabin areas at Howard, consisting of six cabins each. Each heated cabin serves 6-10 students (a few from each class) and 1-3 high school Student Leaders. Cabins are supervised by staff members. All participants sleep on bunk beds with mattresses. Students should bring a sleeping bag (or blankets) and pillow for their stay. The restrooms in the cabin areas are centrally located, and contain private stalls for toilets and showers. In addition to the cabin area restrooms and shower houses, Howard features a restroom / shower house building near the dining hall, and an additional one near the outdoor campfire space, as well as a restroom inside the nurse's station. Private bathroom / shower located in nurse's office. Students will be informed of this option in a small group setting, either when the class comes up to nurse's station on Sunday or in Cabin Groups. This allows students to see where the bathroom is and how to access it. Additional single-stall restrooms are located inside the dining hall. Private changing area in cabin areas will be the bath / shower house, as is current usage. In each cabin area there are single occupancy bathrooms that allow for student choice and privacy. OUTDOOR SCHOOL NURSE There is a registered nurse on site 24 hours a day while your student is at Outdoor School. The nurse takes care of injuries and illnesses as they arise, and also has commonly-forgotten items (like sleeping bags, jackets, and toothbrushes) available to lend. The nurse is available to discreetly clean soiled sleeping bags as needed throughout the week. If you have specific health care or dietary concerns, please contact the Outdoor School Program Nurse, Peggy Sedlak: psedlak@mesd.k12.or.us |
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OTHER FEATURES
Weather permitting, the entire Howard Outdoor School community gathers each evening for a campfire program at the outdoor campfire facility. The Howard campfire space features stunning views of Mt. Hood and the Mt. Hood National Forest surrounding the Bull Run reservoir. Students perform skits and enjoy songs, and it is many students' favorite part of Outdoor School. During inclement weather, campfire programs take place in a community building across from the dining hall. Each afternoon, students participate in recreation, consisting of games, hikes, arts & crafts, archery, or other non-academic activities. These activities are led by staff members or classroom teachers and consist of a mixture of students from each participating class. Field study, the "school" part of Outdoor School, takes place throughout the site, and takes advantage of our incredible local nature. The Howard site is located in the Bull Run watershed, and features lush forests and incredible views. Photos of the natural areas and some of the equipment and specimens used on field study can be found arranged by field study on the Science & Nature page. |
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