April 2016 - Eagle Rock Blog

Eagle Rock Radio Makes Waves During Explore Week

In the midst of each trimester here at Eagle Rock School, students break from their normal classes to engage in Explore Week, a weeklong exploration of new and diverse subject areas.

It’s a time when visiting educators from across the country descend upon our mountainside campus, bringing with them expertise in everything from holistic medicine to theater production to entrepreneurship.

During the most recent Explore Week this past February, some of our students had an exciting opportunity to learn the basics of radio production. Taught by Lisa Morehouse, an award-winning public radio journalist from the San Francisco Bay Area, a half dozen students explored how to record, edit and publish audio pieces.

In addition to the technological aspects of producing radio programming, the students analyzed pieces from SoundsLA, StoryCorps and Lisa’s own pieces on California Foodways to identify different styles of radio. Students also dissected specific sounds or tools that each piece used, such as Continue reading…

Meet the Team: John Marshall, Eagle Rock Cook

John Marshall is no novice in the kitchen, having formerly managed a culinary program for the bustling Chi-Omega sorority at the University of Kansas. John has also packed up his knives and cooking skills to manage the kitchen for campers at Boys Trails End, a unit of Cheley Colorado Camps here in Estes Park. We asked this veteran cook to tell us a little about himself. Here’s what he said, in his own words:

Eagle Rock: What attracted you to Eagle Rock?

John Marshall: I was attracted to Eagle Rock because of its reputation and its sense of community.

ER: When you’re not working, what do you like to do in your spare time?

John: When I’m not working I enjoy spending time with my family. We spend a lot of time in the Rocky Mountain National Park. In fact, camping, fly-fishing and the night sky make me Continue reading…

Detour: Local Road Construction Impacts Getting To and From Eagle Rock

The town of Estes Park has just begun a five-month project that is expected to renovate Dry Gulch Road, the route that leads to Notaiah Road and the start of Eagle Rock’s expansive mountainside grounds. This important capital improvement project is ranked No. 1 on the town’s roadway program and is the first to be funded for work in 2016.

And while this reconstruction and rehabilitation project is good news for those of us who commute to campus for work or leave school to visit downtown Estes Park, the construction work will certainly put a damper on our transportation habits. In fact, beginning now and running through the end of August, students, staff and visitors alike will be taking a seven-mile detour to get to Eagle Rock’s entrance at Notaiah Road.

The reconstruction of Dry Gulch Road is taking shape in two separate phases, with the first phase already underway with a road closure from U.S. 34 north to Stone Gate Drive. This full closure — as well as the one planned in Phase 2 — enables work to be done in significantly less time than it would take by closing alternate lanes. No firm date has been established for the beginning of the second phase of roadwork.

For the past three years, Estes Park has been planning for this $3.93-million project, which includes Continue reading…

Spring Break 2016 Now Underway at Eagle Rock School

Our 2016 spring break began late last week by saying goodbye to the six students who made up our 68th graduating class. Then, just 24 hours later (Sat., April 9), all Eagle Rock School students left campus for home and parts unknown, and some of our instructors and staff members tied up loose ends before heading off for trimester breaks of their own.

Spring in Estes Park

For many of us within the Eagle Rock family, this three-week period is a welcome respite from the classroom, enabling students and staff to rejoin their families in homes across the nation, or to head off on well-deserved vacations.

However, for some, spring break at Eagle Rock is an opportunity to continue our efforts to re-engage youth in their own education. For instance, the Eagle Rock Professional Development team will be working with schools in Continue reading…

Six Eagle Rock School Students Receive Their Diplomas on Friday

A half-dozen Eagle Rock students will be honored from 4 to 6 p.m. this Friday (April 8) at our 68th graduation ceremony. In addition, the graduation ceremony itself will be broadcast live on our Ustream channel.

We asked our new grads to tell us a little about their experience at Eagle Rock School and, not surprisingly, they all had profound things to say. Some of the grads say they’re off to college and all of them credited successes they experienced as part of the Eagle Rock community for their personal growth and academic development.

Here’s what else our graduates’ had to say about their experience, as well as their advice for others considering applying to and then enrolling in Eagle Rock School:

June Jones-Knight joined the Eagle Rock family in September of 2012, and became a member of Pinon House. The Cambridge, Mass., student said her big successes at Eagle Rock came as a result of learning how to push herself to do better and to find “the true artist within.”

She credits having a strong group of friends for becoming involved in “everything,” at Eagle Rock, from musicals to a consistent workout program. June suggests new students learn how to “always be who you are, and realize there is always room for improvement.”

Now that she’s graduating, June said her Continue reading…

Eagle Rock Staffers Look Back on their Favorite Education-themed Films

For many people, a good movie provides the perspective of being an outsider looking in, adding new insight to a particular issue or event. For others, it’s just an opportunity to sit back and enjoy something entertaining.

Film-Reel

Regardless, movies are a valuable art form that can be used to educate, inspire and demand change. In the spirit of celebrating all that cinema has to offer, Eagle Rock staff members recently reflected on their favorite education-themed movies.

Here are their thoughts on the cinema in education:

Film: Once – Directed by John Carney
Commentary by: Jen Frickey, Director of Curriculum

The film musical Once follows a vacuum repairman who spends his evenings busking on the street by playing guitar and singing. A Czech immigrant comes across this musician and asks him if he can repair her broken vacuum. The woman is also a songwriter but spends most her time performing odd jobs and taking care of her mother and daughter.

As the pair gets to know each other, the Czech girl agrees to help the part-time street musician as he writes and records a demo tape in hopes of landing a music contract. The two learn about each other’s past lovers and profess their newly found love for each other — all through the songs they’re writing.

While not a typical ‘education movie’ about teaching and learning, Once is a beautiful story of how common interests and passion can bring people together and create amazing results. It reminds me of how important it is that we Continue reading…

Eagle Rock School is looking for an Adjunct Outdoor Education Instructor

One of the current positions we’re recruiting for is titled Outdoor Education Adjunct Instructor. It’s a job we imagine would appeal to anyone who loves working in the outdoors, especially with diverse adolescents from backgrounds that haven’t afforded them the opportunity to experience the healing and generative nature of the outdoors or a unique and supportive community like ours.

Not a lot of classroom time required here. In fact, most of the job requires extensive time with underserved youth in the open air, surrounding by mountains, meadows and meandering streams.

And while that admittedly sounds like an outdoor professional’s dream, there’s a ton of administrative prep work involved in this position. For instance, just preparing for the Eagle Rock School New Student Wilderness Orientation Course begins with planning and coordination among various Eagle Rock team members in the areas of logistics, instruction and course directing.

There’s also the task of assisting with the complex technical components of adventure-based classes — again including logistics support. In addition, there’s equipment and food inventory, activity risk management and training, climbing wall training, curriculum development, and assisting us with our ongoing accreditation documentation through the Association for Experiential Education (AEE).

Oh, and then there’s a solid amount of time spent with our veteran students and Continue reading…