Navigator Pointe Academy’s annual eighth grade hike is a fun, social, educational and healthy tradition students look forward to participating in. In mid-May, this year’s eighth-grade students hiked around Bell’s Canyon reservoir and up the trail to the waterfall, a distance of about 5.5 miles.

Leading the way was 71-years-young Principal Judy Farris, an ultrarunner who regularly hikes, runs and climbs.

“She was just such an example to us, because she was just going and going and going and we were all like, ‘Okay, guess we'll just go, too,” eighth grader Maggie said.

“I was dying of exhaustion while the principal is a superhuman” eighth grader Preston said.

In previous years, only some of the students made it to the top of the hiking trail with Farris. This year all 17 eighth graders did.

“It was sheer will, drive and motivation from their peers and their own efforts to get them there,” Farris said. “And that didn't just happen on that event. That's an example of how regular P.E. and regular health and physical fitness activities during our school year, and our regular program, motivates the students to dig a little bit deeper when they need to.”

Navigator Pointe Academy is a classical education charter school which prioritizes physical wellness as part of a well-rounded education, providing regular physical fitness classes, three recesses per day and a competitive track and field day.

“I think P.E. is as crucial as math and reading for students,” Farris said. “They may not always want to run that extra lap or do those real push-ups, but I think they've learned that it does make them physically strong, and when you’re physically strong it helps you mentally as well to think more clearly and to just be a well-rounded, physically fit, mentally awake kind of person.”

On this year’s hike, students expressed appreciation for the opportunity to spend time outdoors with their friends and enjoy the beauty of their surroundings.

“Since we kind of live in the city or suburbs, we don't really see nature as much, so it's kind of like a gift to be able to go out and walk around and see it,” eighth-grader Newell said.

“My favorite part was coming down when it was raining and the landscape and everything was, like, really beautiful,” a student named Pramod said. “If you looked up, you could see clouds and the fog covering the mountains—it was pretty beautiful.”

Others enjoyed pushing themselves to get to the top of the trail.

“My favorite part was just the challenge, because I don't usually do it that often, and having the challenge was nice,” a student named Liam said.

The trail included steep climbs, big rocks, water crossings, rain and slick trails. Students helped and motivated each other to overcome the challenges, determined to have everyone make it to the waterfall.

“I was struggling near the end because the rocks were just hard to climb,” a student named Abbie said. “And we were helping each other out, and holding our hands to help lift people up, and that's how we made it to the waterfall.”

A student named Maggie said it was good to have the support of classmates and friends.

“I think most of getting to the top depends on who you're with and your attitude,” she said. “Because I think if I had just gone with, like, one other person, I probably wouldn't have made it because I wouldn't have had the motivation to get there.”

The hike was first proposed as an end-of-year field trip three years ago by science teacher Michael Bean when he realized most of his students didn’t spend much time outdoors.

“I'd say over half of that class had never gone on a hike,” he said.

Bean prepares the students for the field trip each year with lessons on outdoor and hiking safety. He ties in academics on the hike, identifying plantlife and discussing the role of the reservoir in providing drinking water.λ