Science lessons will come to life this week for 73 sixth-graders from Denair Middle School. The students will be learning about natural history while spending four days at the Foothill Horizons outdoor education camp. The group left Tuesday and will return Friday.

The much-anticipated field trip is one of the highlights of the year for sixth-grade students from school districts throughout the region. DMS Principal Gabriela Sarmiento said her students are eager to explore the same trails, hills and creeks at the 143-acre facility in Tuolumne County that many of their brothers and sisters – and, in some cases, even their parents – experienced years before. 

“Many parents and students look forward to this week since before they enter as new sixth-graders,” she said. “Many of our students have older siblings and sometimes even parents that have previously participated, so for many, the week at Foothill Horizons is their sixth-grade right of passage.”

Foothill Horizons is operated by the Stanislaus County Office of Education and certified by the State Department of Education. The lessons led by naturalists cover ecology, geology, and plants and animals native to the foothills. Students learn how to respect nature and how to cooperate with others.

“Our sixth-grade science teachers don’t teach any specific lessons in preparation for their week at outdoor education, but they do work with students throughout the year to prepare them for their experience,” Sarmiento said.

The district covers the cost of the transportation, but families do pay for the tuition and rooming costs. Multiple fundraisers occur throughout the school year and scholarships are available for those students in need of financial assistance. 

Three sixth-grade teachers from DMS also attend as chaperones and a dozen Denair High juniors and seniors serve as counselors. The high school students stay with the DMS students in their dormitories and assist the teachers and naturalists.