All the Buzz

Outdoor Education at Silverdale

No one would argue about the importance of fresh air and sunshine during the 2020-2021 school year. During this unprecedented year, our students flourished outside! Classes could be seen all over our 22-acre campus smiling, learning, and thriving. Our creative teachers were able to incorporate the outdoors into every aspect of the curriculum and offered our students a rich feast of opportunistic learning. From exploring the creek to navigating our bamboo forest, students worshipped the Creator while wondering at creation.

This year we were blessed with a brand new 16 ft. by 30 ft. Atlas Educational Greenhouse from Farm Bureau! Our students were able to get their hands dirty and learn all about seed growth and development, as well as care and maintenance of plants. Classes grew Mother’s Day gifts and plants that were added to our existing garden beds. Students planted hundreds of seeds and we distributed over 100 plants and seedlings to our teachers and staff. With all the excitement around our new garden addition, we had not just one but two garden camps this summer. We can’t wait to see what the Lord has in store for our little greenhouse!

Silverdale was also recently awarded a $26,000 grant from Outride’s Riding for Focus cycling program!

As a recipient of the grant, Silverdale received 27 new Specialized mountain bikes, helmets, maintenance kits, the Riding For Focus curriculum, and program training. We taught the bicycle curriculum to our middle school physical education classes, and several students learned how to ride a bike for the first time!

This past summer, Silverdale hosted two mountain bike camps, where students learned bike skills and more while riding on beautiful local trails. This fall, we debut our Mountain Bike Club for upper school students to ride mountain bike trails after school!

Research shows that cycling has a unique and powerful impact on students’ learning, mood, attention, confidence, and fitness. The positive effects are even more profound on students who struggle with attention disorders. The Riding for Focus school-based cycling program was born after Mike Sinyard, founder of Specialized Bicycle Components, found that cycling improved his ADHD enough to go from high-school dropout to the founder of one of the world’s most successful bike companies. It is awesome observing how cycling has helped Silverdale students achieve academic, physical, and social success!

We are now entering our third year with honey bees on campus. This past spring, we split our strongest hive, bringing our number of hives up to 3. In addition, we acquired another NUC through a partnership with an area beekeeper, giving us four hives. Our hives have done so well that we did another split this summer, and that makes five. Five hives!

We love sharing with our students and families the importance of honey bees. Outdoor Ed and experiential learning are key components to educating students at SBA. Our students get to observe our very own honey bees pollinating the plants in our raised garden beds, pollinator garden, and native wildflowers along our creek bank. They get to taste the honey that our bees produce when we present lessons. They have seen actual workers, drones, and a queen up close. The addition of a teaching hive has also enhanced our bee lessons.

Outdoor Education is an integral part of the life of our students at SBA. We are blessed to have these opportunities for our students!

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His Company Dance Team Christmas, 2020

“The new Silverdale Center houses a myriad of activities to offer to the surrounding community. The dance studio is a light-filled space fit with ballet barres and ample room for movement. Our dancers can practice their skills in an environment that encourages growth. Chattanooga Ballet is grateful for their partnership with Silverdale and loves the new studio space at the Silverdale Center!”

Nena Widtfeldt

Director of Education

Chattanooga Ballet