What is goal ventures about?
GOAL Ventures is a unique experiential education program that inspires life-long learning skills, provides class-specific core credit, and contributes to life skills development.
If you are preparing to go on a GOAL Venture:
- You must be passing your classes to sign up and attend all scheduled trips.
- Trip-specific requirements must be met.
- Complete the Paperwork packet, with parent signatures – all lines/pages must be completed!
- Attend all pre-trip meetings.
Upcoming Trips and Classes
Introduction to Outdoor Recreation Online Schoology Class
The Introduction to Outdoor Recreation class will prepare you for attending one of our GOAL Ventures in person courses. The class will cover topics including Leave No Trace, Outdoor Recreation, Planning and Preparing and Careers in Outdoor Leadership. Students must have completed or be enrolled in the course in order to take “GOAL Ventures – Discovery“
Goal Ventures Discovery
The GOAL Ventures – Discovery courses provide an introduction to GOAL Academy’s experiential learning pathway. The trip focuses on soft skills such as teamwork, communication, group living, and self-discovery. The capstone trip will focus on life skills such as teamwork, preparation, cooking and social skills. Activities on the trip vary depending on class but can include icebreakers, team-building games, hiking, and meal preparation. Enrollment or completion of the “Introduction to Outdoor Recreation” online Schoology course is a pre-requisite for all “GOAL Ventures – Discovery” classes. Students can also complete this class concurrently during the same quarter as the capstone trip.
Southern Discovery
South Fork, CO
August 29-31, 2023
For students in the Colorado Springs, Central and Southern Regions, this course will occur during Quarter 1 and have indoor accommodations at the Beaver Creek Youth Camp. Situated along the scenic South Fork River, students will have the chance to explore the Rio Grande National Forest through various excursions. Activities may include hiking, a museum visit, waterfall viewing, along with other adventures in the Creede and South Fork areas.
Northern Discovery
Leadville, CO
September 18-20, 2023
For students in the Denver, Northwest and Northeast Regions, this course will occur during Quarter 1 and have indoor accommodations at the Leadville Hostel. Students will have the opportunity to enjoy the color-changing Rocky Mountains in all of their fall beauty. Activities may include hiking, visits to historic mines and ghost towns, as well as exploring the Leadville and Twin Lakes areas.
Winter Discovery
Leadville, CO
January 23-26, 2024
For all students across the state of Colorado, this course will occur during Quarter 3 and have indoor accommodations at the Leadville Hostel. Students can expect to spend time outdoors in the winter wonderland, while exploring the highest incorporated town in the U.S.! Throughout the week, students will have the chance to visit Ski Cooper for ski or snowboard lessons, snowshoe at Colorado Mountain College and discover more about other winter activities across the Rocky Mountains.
Land Use and Government Organizations
February 27-March 7, 2024
The GOAL Ventures – Land Use and Government Organizations course will focus on the various state, federal and native organizations, and how they work together to manage our public and private lands. We will explore various organizations such as the National Park Service, Local State Parks services, US Customs and Border Patrol, Bureau of Land Management and many more. On trip activities include camping, meal preparation, hiking, service learning, federal and local organization tours, and guest speakers. The 23/24 course will travel to Southern Arizona and will be a camping-based venture. Completion of “GOAL Ventures – Discovery” is a pre-requisite for this course
Environmental Science
in the Outdoors
April 1-6, 2024
GOAL Ventures – Environmental Science in the Outdoors course focuses on how humans interact with the natural world. We will view these interactions through the lenses of our impact on Geology, Hydrology, and the Flora and Fauna of the region. Students will apply their skills in an outdoor environment and earn a Leave No Trace certificate. Activities include hiking, camping, meal preparation, rafting and scrambling. The 23/24 course will travel to Goblin Valley UT and will be a camping-based venture. Completion of “GOAL Ventures – Discovery” is a pre-requisite for this course
Political Geography
May 13-18, 2024
The GOAL Ventures – Political Geography course will focus on how our maps came to be. We will explore the conflict between the native populations, the western expansion of the United States and how natural resources spurred the formation of the maps you see today. The capstone trip explores the local area and how various interested parties have divided the limited lands. Activities include hiking, museum tours, and guest speakers. The 23/24 course will travel to the Black Hills region of South Dakota and will have indoor accommodation. Completion of “GOAL Ventures – Discovery” is a pre-requisite for this course
Outdoor Leadership
and Stewardship
October 23-27, 2023
The GOAL Ventures – Outdoor Leadership and stewardship class is an introduction to outdoor leadership. We will cover topics such as Leave No Trace, Leadership Styles, Wilderness First Aid and Trip Planning. The class will be capped off with an overnight backpacking trip where we put these skills into practice. Upon successful completion, participants will earn a CPR/Wilderness first aid certificate. To enroll in this class, you must have attended at least one prior GOAL Ventures in person experience. The 23/24 course will travel to Eastern Utah and will be a hybrid backpacking/camping/indoor venture. Students wanting to enroll in this class need a staff recommendation as well as completion of an in-person GOAL Ventures class.
Black Hills & Beyond
May 8-13, 2023
The Southeastern face of Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota’s Black Hills National Forest is the site of four gigantic carved sculptures depicting the faces of U.S. Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and T. Roosevelt. Led by the sculptor Gutzon Borglum, work on the project began in 1927 and was finally completed in 1941. This will be just one of the amazing places we will visit during our stay in the Rapid City area.
This is a moderate physical activity trip. We will be staying in cabins at the Storm Mountain Center in Rapid City, SD. On this trip no meal prep is required. Expect to be outside most days with varying weather and temperature.
Upon acceptance students will be enrolled into the GOAL Ventures – Mount Rushmore, schoology class. This class will house all pre-trip and post trip assignments. Grades will be earned in line with GOAL’s grading policy. The class
is worth .5 Social Studies credit.
The Mount Rushmore (and Beyond) course will focus on the land use of the area, and the conflict between the Native Indian tribes, the miners in search of gold, and the homesteaders just trying to get by. The capstone trip is to the Black Hills in
South Dakota. Activities include travel to Mount Rushmore National Memorial, exploring the mining history of Deadwood and Lead, an excursion into nearby Rapid City, and hiking.
For any questions: TEAMS Alex Bajorek ([email protected]) or Karlotta Artzt ([email protected])
ALL GOAL VENTURES ARE TOBACCO AND VAPOR FREE PROGRAM.
“In its simplest form, experiential learning means learning from experience or learning by doing. experiential education first immerses learners in an experience and then encourages reflection about the experience to develop new skills, new attitudes, or new ways of thinking.”