From Victoria Boyd M.Ed.
Graduation Coach
Prattville High School
The Prattville High School Freshman Academy has completed another year of the annual freshman field trip to the Alabama Nature Center. This field trip has occurred since 2012. Every PHS 9th grader is given the opportunity to go on this free field trip. Freshman attendees were split into 4 field trip days to accommodate the large freshman class. These field trip days were from October 24th through the 27th.
The day began with a proclamation of the day’s goals: to get students out of their normal environment so that they can work to overcome obstacles by communicating, building relationships, and developing leadership skills for life. The Alabama Nature Center provides the perfect scene to help students think differently as they explore nature and discover beauty in what they often take for granted.
The Alabama Nature Center’s Team Building Program is designed to break down barriers and encourage collaboration, trust, and leadership. Through challenging activities, students’ leadership skills emerge, and they encounter opportunities to be selfless as they work to help their team succeed.
As a part of the physical activities and the presentations, students are also encouraged to be aware of the people around them and in their life that are there to support them and help guide their path positively. Students finish the day more aware of the community they have supporting them and feeling empowered to be a part of the community lifting up their peers.
While at the Alabama Nature Center, the boys heard from the Prattville Police Department and the girls heard from the Autauga County Sheriff’s Office on relevant topics concerning today’s students. On campus during this week of field trips, the boys heard from local motivational speaker, author, and non-profit leader Charles Lee, founder of That’s my Child and That’s my Dog Jr..
The girls heard from Liz Huntley, a lawyer, author, child advocate, and motivational speaker. This week of speakers and field trips has proven year after year to be a highly impactful one that helps build the student and community leaders of the future. Prattville High School faculty and staff extend their thanks to the Alabama Nature Center, our guest speakers, and our community sponsors.
This field trip along with the day’s lunch is provided to students for free each year through donations, community sponsorships, and grants. Please contact Victoria Boyd at [email protected] to find out how you can help make next year’s trip possible for the PHS Freshman Academy.
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