Students at WRHS are required to take a semester of Project Adventure as their PE class during their sophomore year, but Project Adventure is more than just a high school course.
According to the website https://www.pa.org/who-we-are, Project Adventure is an organization that “provide(s) adventure-based learning experiences and tools to promote growth in individuals, schools, healthy communities, and effective organizations.” The participants in Adventure “use challenge courses (ropes courses, climbing walls, etc.) as a powerful tool for adventure-based learning.”
For students at WRHS the focus goes beyond just having a physical goal. Adventure focuses more on the growth of a student mentally.
“The end goal is to structure a program where kids are actually outside, experiencing different things that bring them out of their comfort zone, to promote confidence, and social skills,” says PE teacher Brian Majoy.
“Physicality is the least of a student’s concerns,” says PE teacher Kevin Briggs. The class is also about confidence building in a school environment. Like most aspects of high school, students struggle with what other people think of them. “By going through and trying these elements, Adventure helps students raise their opinion of themselves,” says Briggs.
Even though the main focus of Adventure is developing the mindset of students, there are physical aspects to the course.
“Climbing is a physical activity; there’s no hiding that,” Majoy says. However, “We have a wide range of elements from really easy to moderately challenging.”
Rather than having the overall focus on the physical abilities of students, Project Adventure pivots towards developing a student’s mindset and this is something that appeals to students.
“I’m pretty excited because if it’s helping challenge your mental health it’ll be good for the future,” says freshman Brianna ¨Faith¨ Quitoriano. “High school is a lot more stressful than I’d thought it’d be, and I like how they’re giving skills for us to cope with the stress.”
