Building a boat out of cardboard is all part of the lesson plan in Outdoor Education with students hoping to float to the finish line in a unit on water safety. 

“The main thing is to work on and talk about life jacket safety, we get them in the water, we tread water for a little bit to understand how exhausting it can be just to do it for a period of time,” teacher Justin Koons said. “Then we put them in life jackets and show them how easy it is to float, whether they can swim or not, it’s more of a safety issue, and they can understand the importance of it.”

“The collaboration and creativity needed made building the boats enjoyable,” freshman Al Zhang said.

Treading water, a method of staying afloat by rotating the hands and legs in a circular motion, can become a strenuous activity. 

“Water safety is beneficial,” Koons said. “I’ve been there and know how kids can think they’re invincible, and there are times where I’m on the water, and feel like I’m a pretty good swimmer and I don’t want to wear a life jacket because it’s cumbersome.”

After the boats are built and lessons on water safety, the class heads to the natatorium.

“My favorite part was actually heading down to the natatorium and kayaking,” freshman Phoenix Myers said.

 “You know I take my kids out all the time, but it’s just important to have that knowledge of knowing that these life jackets are available because by state law they have to be on boats,”  Koons said. “They have to be worn, and for that being said it’s just added knowledge.”

For junior Mauricio Echenique, the lesson taught a variety of skills, all while being creative. 

“The benefits of being in this class are the survival and environment knowledge you get from how to start a fire to fishing and plenty of other fun outdoor activities,” Echenique said. “The boat my team made went really well using some of the basics we learned in class and some creativity, our boat did 2 laps around the pool.”