Grade 11 Whitewater Expedition

Grade 11 Whitewater Expedition

The Grade 11 whitewater expedition in Shikoku, developed together with our outdoor education partner Canyons, further extends students’ skills and knowledge of expeditions and leadership, facilitating inquiry into the statement: Living and learning in communities requires initiative, action and application of leadership. Students and staff travel to the Tokushima area, Shikoku by shinkansen and local train, where, in groups, they paddle individual packrafts for 5 days along the Yoshino River, one the three great rivers of Japan and arguably one of the most beautiful. With an exciting play based approach, the necessary packraft skills will be taught by Canyons’ expert instructors, operating under international industry standards of safety. Such skills include river swims, whitewater paddling technique and hydro topography analysis. Wearing wetsuits, students navigate their way across the class 1 to class 3 rapids and each night, sleep in tents and cook on stoves. The picturesque mountains provide a backdrop and the month of March provides cool, stable weather and will be constantly monitored along with river levels. On-river communication, group management and inclement weather plans have all been considered in the planning stages as per industry standard. The teaching approach Challenge by Choice, encourages student agency and guided decision making as the group studies the rapids and actively chooses their adventure. Wilderness understanding is explicitly reflected upon and students are guided in bringing their learning of community and leadership back to school life.

Note: The cost of this expedition is covered in the school tuition.