Outdoor Education
Outdoor education is an integral part of the St. Mark’s experience. Confronting some basic problems of life in the wilderness under the guidance of skilled and caring adults helps our students learn to cope with uncertainty, to gain self-confidence, and to develop self-reliance.
Wilderness Program
The wilderness experience not only teaches the skills of an outdoorsman but also develops a boy’s ability to organize and to lead others. Being together in the wilderness gives teachers and students an opportunity to interact in a way not possible at school. These experiences help to unify our school and teach us the importance of working together and caring for one another.
Camping in the Middle School is built on a curriculum of sequential skills, which culminate in a ten-day trip to the Pecos Wilderness of New Mexico, the summer before a student’s freshman year. At St. Mark’s, we favor a low-impact, low-technology philosophy of camping. When simplicity and ingenuity will suffice in place of costly specialized equipment, we prefer it. We sleep under tarps, and what we carry in, we carry out. While in camp we keep noise to a reasonable level, and we acknowledge the right of plants and animals to share the wilderness with us in peace.
The Pecos Wilderness Trip is a rite of passage for the rising 9th graders - their introduction to the Upper School. Most Alumni who return to the school fondly recall their own Pecos Wilderness Trip, and it is something that all alumni have in common as a St. Mark's experience.
All St. Mark’s students, beginning in the sixth grade and continuing through the summer before their freshman year, are required to participate in the Wilderness Program. Upon entering the Upper School, students have the option of continuing their experiences by joining the Sherpa Club.
Camping in the Middle School is built on a curriculum of sequential skills, which culminate in a ten-day trip to the Pecos Wilderness of New Mexico, the summer before a student’s freshman year. At St. Mark’s, we favor a low-impact, low-technology philosophy of camping. When simplicity and ingenuity will suffice in place of costly specialized equipment, we prefer it. We sleep under tarps, and what we carry in, we carry out. While in camp we keep noise to a reasonable level, and we acknowledge the right of plants and animals to share the wilderness with us in peace.
In an earlier day, when most Americans lived in towns or on farms and ranches, the reciprocal benefits of this connection were experienced in the course of a normal life. One part of our national greatness was based upon it. Keeping this educational link vital in a society increasingly oriented to urban activities and values, and limited to urban boundaries, requires a stretch on the part of our school community, by teachers, students and parents. For what we learn – and for the fun of it – The Wilderness Experience is worth the effort!
The Pecos Wilderness Trip is a rite of passage for the rising 9th graders - their introduction to the Upper School. Most Alumni who return to the school fondly recall their own Pecos Wilderness Trip, and it is something that all alumni have in common as a St. Mark's experience.
Read more...
The Pecos Wilderness Trip was featured in the Fall 2023 issue of The Pride magazine.
St. Mark’s School of Texas
10600 Preston Road
Dallas, Texas 75230
214-346-8000
Dallas, Texas 75230
214-346-8000
About Us
St. Mark’s School of Texas is a private, nonsectarian college-preparatory boys’ day school for students in grades 1 through 12, located in Dallas, Texas. St. Mark’s aims to prepare young men to assume leadership and responsibility in a competitive and changing world.
St. Mark’s does not discriminate in the administration of its admission and education policies on the basis of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin.
St. Mark’s does not discriminate in the administration of its admission and education policies on the basis of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin.
