The Outdoor Education and Leadership Program (OELP) that takes place in the Fall is known as ‘Adventure Week’. High School students recently completed their OELP trips for 2019-20.

Each student selects an experiential learning program of their choice, and will then spend time preparing for the week long trip off campus. This school year there were nine different choices. Some stayed in Hong Kong and some went as far away as New Zealand and Fiji, whilst most travelled to a community within a country in our Asian region. We were especially excited to expand our trip offerings this year with the addition of the Sri Lanka trip!

Each program is designed with a community action project to enable students to learn from the experience of serving others, and to give back to the communities they support and learn from during the week. These service projects will often harness skills of collaboration and teamwork as students work together in groups to solve problems and serve others.

These experiential service learning weeks will also usually include time for students to explore historical sites and places of interest and to connect with the local community so as to hear their stories and to develop an appreciation for their way of life. Through building connections with the local community, students deepen their understanding of and appreciation for different cultural traditions and value systems.

Each trip tends to have a slightly different focus with many aiming to enhance student’s understanding of important global issues such as animal conservation, environmental protection, sustainable living or poverty and lack of educational opportunities in different parts of our region and world, whilst other trips focus more on overcoming physical challenges and developing team work and communication skills.