The Adventure Ed program began the third trimester with several new activities, clubs and enrichment opportunities.  In addition to our daily Homework Club, students also can participate in clubs every day of the school week.

On Tuesdays, students can once again build self-confidence while learning about Tobacco Prevention through Teen Advocates.  On Wednesdays, our intermediate Taiko Club is still going strong and will perform at the Canyonlands Half-Marathon later this month.  There are two club activities on Thursdays, the Climbing Club where students can experience the excitement of the outdoors while learning the basics of climbing.  Or, they can attend Drama Club to learn improvisational techniques, characterization and body movement while gaining poise and respect for others. 

In addition to these clubs, Adventure Ed is proud to offer a new Airplanes, Kites and Rockets Club where students can learn the fundamentals of flight and how to build model airplanes, fly kites and launch rockets.  The club will meet on Fridays from 4:00—5:00pm through April and is open to all middle school students. 

This trimester, Adventure Ed was fortunate to receive a grant from the Moab Arts Council that will enable students to make a 21^st century time capsule art project using several different media.  The project will use their creativity to chronicle life in Moab for middle school students while contrasting their experiences with those of students from the past.  The finished time capsule will be placed in several real-life and virtual locations.  The project meeting times are Mondays and Thursdays from 4:00—5:00pm.

Adventure Ed is always looking for new club ideas and new club leaders.  If you are interested in sharing a special skill or activity with our students, please call 259-2767 or 260-9439.

On February 26, Adventure Ed marked the end of the second trimester with an Incentive Party that recognized the hard work students made to complete assignments and to raise their grades.  Parents and students celebrated with pizza as staff awarded fun prizes to those students whose work merited special consideration.

The Adventure Ed program was pleased that so many parents and family members were able to attend to support their children and the efforts of the after school program.  In addition, the party gave many parents an opportunity to see the work that Adventure Ed does and how their children use it to improve their grades.

The celebration culminated with the recognition of 8^th Grade student, Mandy Tharp, as Adventure Ed’s Student of the Trimester.  For her hard work and dedication, Mandy received a trophy and other prizes.

As part of our ongoing prevention programming, Adventure Ed sponsored a financial literacy exercise for our students that complimented the lessons they learned during this year’s Reality Town school event.  On Jan 29^th, staff from Adventure Ed and Club Red accompanied students to City Market to purchase items for an ice cream party that was later held at the Moab Teen Center.

During the exercise, students were separated into groups and asked to prepare a menu based on the budget they were provided.  In addition to food items, students also considered supplies and party decorations.

The event was a success, enabling students from Adventure Ed and Club Red to learn important financial lessons while meeting new friends.  The exercise would not have been so successful if not for the support of City Market and the cooperation of their great employees!

The BEACON Adventure Ed After School Program presented a performance of “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged),” written by the Reduced Shakespeare Company, at the Grand County High School auditorium on Feb. 5.   The sponsored performance was held to benefit Adventure Ed’s Drama Club.

The play, performed by three professional actors, is a parody of all 37 Shakespeare plays, and has been performed thousands of times across the globe, since its inception in Edinburgh in 1987, including nine record-breaking years at the Criterion Theatre in London.

The BEACON Adventure Ed program sponsored the event to recognize our great after school programming, including the new Drama Club, led by Club Leader Kandee Degraw.

The performance drew about 150 people from the community for a night of humor and fun.  In addition,
the professional actors led a free acting workshop on Feb. 6 at the Grand County High School auditorium. The first portion of the workshop was open to all Middle School students; then the afternoon portion was available to the Moab community.  The actors brought years of talent and their enthusiasm to both the performance and workshop, experience that Adventure Ed would like to use in future events.

 For more information about this or other Adventure Ed programs or activities, please call 259-2767.