The Class of 2030 Builds Community at Hulbert Outdoor Center
February 10, 2026
Last week our 8th grade students traveled to the Hulbert Outdoor Center in Fairlee, Vermont for an overnight experience designed to do more than build memories. The trip placed students in situations of shared challenge, where learning happens through experience and reflection. These moments revealed the five habits we value in Kathy Hooke’s science classroom and across Thetford Academy’s curriculum: collaboration, communication, creativity, challenge, and curiosity.
On the first day at Hulbert, the center’s talented instructors led students through a series of fun and challenging teambuilding activities, with a shared meal, a fire, and storytelling in the evening. On day two, students prepared to tackle Hulbert’s high ropes course, with bridges, ziplines, trapeze, and rock climbing routes. The high ropes course is a unique opportunity for students to step out of their comfort zone and challenge their mind and body.
Productive struggle and challenge matter for our middle schoolers. Adolescents are learning independence, negotiating risk and peer dynamics, and our time at Hulbert created a safe space for this type of grappling.
One student reflected on why collaboration can be hard, “especially when you want to do your own thing. But sometimes your own thing is wrong or there’s a better answer. But you’ll never know if you don’t collaborate.” Another noted that “We kind of struggled with collaboration because of the same voices speaking.”
Some challenges were anticipated: “When I was doing the high ropes course, I learned that I am not amazing with heights, however I still did many of the elements of the ropes course, and that was very challenging for me.” Others were unexpected but equally important: “A challenge was probably not being with my mom. I have never really been away from her.”
The Class of 2030 took on these challenges with aplomb. In an email, teacher Kristen Downey shared with parents that “spirits are high and there’s been lots of cheering each other on as [students] take some healthy risks.” At Hulbert, collaboration, communication, creativity, curiosity, and challenge weren’t abstract ideas– they were lived experiences.
