High School / Retreats & Outdoor Education

"I never let schooling get in the way of my education." Mark Twain

Schools may not fully agree with the quote by Mark Twain, but in many ways he did capsulate the very essence of learning. That is to say that education must go beyond the four walls of a school classroom. Students need to be learning and experiencing a host of concepts in different environments and then be able to apply them to real life challenges. Getting students out of the classroom in a variety of settings will cause them to learn in different ways, which gives them foundations to build on for further learning.

Class trips are an essential part of the learning process and at QCC we endeavour to see students out of the classroom and taking trips that are relative to the course of study that is presented in the classroom.

Retreats are an integral part of the Queensway learning process. They are a time to get to know one another outside of the classroom and really are a special time for building the Queensway community. There are lots of outdoor activities all with a real-life lesson to be learned. Whether it’s mapping skills, canoeing or learning to trust their friends by working through a ropes course, they all come back enriched. In the evening, time is set aside to develop the spiritual aspect with campfires under the stars where you can truly enjoy God’s creation and one another. High school students participate in a three day retreat early in the school year in order to accomplish the goals listed above.

Other trips are geared to the curriculum and include the Stratford Festival, Ontario College Fair, World Concerns Conference, Bluma Theatre, Science Centre, ACSI Arts Festival, Hart House, Wonderland (educational program) etc.