Immersion: Making Learning Unforgettable
At Cornerstone, we know that educational discipleship is so much more than mechanical classroom teaching and field trips. That is why at CCA we strive to give our students the best in immersive learning. Unlike field trips, immersion trips are an opportunity for our students to join their classroom learning with quality immersive experiences. Our teachers and sponsors are specially trained to ensure that each trip engages the student. Students gain practical skills, participate in critical thinking, gain experiential knowledge, and construct world view and ministry applications. Here are some features of our program:
- In addition to regular field trips, all students 4th grade and up have the opportunity for at least one overnight immersion trip per year.
- Sponsors are specially trained to focus the student on the learning task to extract the most out of the experience. Teachers write special objectives for trips as part of the fulfillment of the TEKS and CCA objectives.
- CCA does special fundraising and gives a portion of tuition back to the immersion fund to keep the cost of trips to a minimum.
- Kids love immersion trips better than the regular field trips because they are so much fun.
- Immersion trips usually include a spiritual application/discipleship component to keep students' minds on the ultimate goal of serving in God's Kingdom.
- Immersion is also our goal in the classroom; our teachers are trained to provide "minds on" learning, multiplying engagement, information retention (processing), and deeper thinking.
Take a look at some of our Trips:
Spanish Immersion
Each year our students take an immersion adventure to an exotic Spanish-speaking destination. Before going, the students receive a two-week intense course in grammar and speaking skills. Once the grammar is under their belts, they are off to their destination for two weeks to immerse themselves in the culture and language. It is an incredible learning experience and lots of fun: lounging on the beach, snorkeling, sightseeing, zip lining, jungle excursion, bio reserves, volcano and waterfall exploration, seeing ruins, and going to cultural centers. Students participate in free travel, where they navigate themselves trough their host country, negotiating the trip and speaking to each other, all in Spanish. By the time they return to the United States, they have increased their language skills more than a year-long traditional course. This trip is for students who enroll in Spanish II, Spanish III, and Culture Immersion (Fine Arts elective).
C.L.A.W. Retreat
The CLAW immersion retreat is a training camp for students to learn college-level courses in critical thinking, logic, apologetics, and world view (hence, the acronym). In this four day retreat at Collin County Adventure Camp, the students are trained to become strong Christian thinkers. Along with the intense training, students are also given a spiritual focus (this year was "Focus on the Race," Hebrews 12:1-2). Students have class sessions, group devotionals, group building, recreation time, praise and campfire time, and free time. Together, it makes for one intense week for building up skills, reminding them of their purpose, and bringing unity among the student body. This retreat is for all high school students.
Science Adventure Camp
Each year, our 5th and 6th graders head out to the YMCA Adventure Camp for some good old fashion field biology. Here they learn about the prairies, water habitats, survival/outdoor living skills, map and compass, group building, and even descriptive writing. At the same time, students are having a thrilling time with campfires, outdoor activities, a rock-climbing wall, canoeing, and just plain fun. This trip not only helps them learn about the environment and scientific method, but it builds them up as a group and teaches them how to think critically and from a Christian world view This perennial favorite is on all our elementary student's bucket list.
Other Trips:
Model United Nations
Renaissance Fair
NASA
Austin and San Antonio (Texas History)
