By Scott Goss
Cecil Whig Newspaper
Chesapeake Bay, Md.— Five days of studying ecology and the Chesapeake Bay might at first seem like just another week for Cecil County’s sixth-graders.
But when that week takes place outside the classroom at an overnight camp that boasts a ropes course and 400-foot zip line, the week is anything but routine.
For the second straight year, the county’s public school system is sending sixth-graders on overnight field trips to NorthBay Adventure, a $33 million environmental education center in the heart of the 97-acre Elk Neck State Park south of North East.
“We love working with the Cecil County Public Schools and we’re thrilled they’ve come back for another visit,” Pete Albert, the camp’s executive director, said last week. “It’s just a great relationship and we’ve been working all year to make it the best experience possible.”
The field trips are free to students because the school system is once again picking up the full $340,000 tab, which equals about $309 per student. Parents, chaperones and teachers can also stay at the camp free.
Bohemia Manor and Perryville middle schools’ sixth-graders completed their weeklong stay at the camp Friday.
Today, Cherry Hill and Elkton middle schools will begin their five-day, four-night stay, followed by North East and Rising Sun middle schools next month.
Nia Heniyah, a sixthgrader at Perryville Middle, said visiting NorthBay last week was every bit as educational as receiving instruction in a classroom setting.
“This is a learning experience,” she said. “We’re out in nature learning about different animals, like clams and birds, invasive species and everything. Plus, it’s fun.”
Classmate Dillon Huffman said that for him, NorthBay was about more than just learning.
“I made new friends here,” he said. “If you miss this trip, you’re missing a lot out of life and you won’t have a long story to tell that’s really cool.”