CHARLEMONT — In an effort to find new ways to connect students in a remote learning landscape, the Academy at Charlemont has expanded its outdoor extracurricular activities.
In addition to the handful of activities it might have any other year — such as kayaking, soccer, hiking and yoga — the school on Route 2 is offering weekly mountain biking groups, trail running and hiking groups, and disc golf groups, according to Nora Bates Zale, associate head of school at the Academy at Charlemont.
“It was born out of necessity to find ways to connect students with that … in-person element they’re all so dearly missing,” she said.
The Academy at Charlemont announced in August its decision to pursue a fully remote learning model. At the time, Bates Zale said the school was interested in finding ways to bring students together in small cohorts to engage in activities on or off campus.
The school kicked off the new year last month with a kayaking trip on Plainfield Pond in Ashfield, replacing the annual rafting trip down the Deerfield River.
Masks are required of all participants, and activities are modified to suit COVID-19 safety guidelines, Bates Zale said. In soccer, for example, the students are unable to scrimmage.
“They’re having to do skills and drills types of activities… so there’s no shared materials,” she said.
Bates Zale said the activities, which meet weekly after classes have finished for the day, have been a “welcome reprieve” for students.
“It’s been really great,” she said. “Students who have been participating have been really enthusiastic that we’ve been able to offer these activities.”
Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne