The past two Thursdays have hosted unique events on Ripon’s campus. Seven students from Crossroads Academy teamed up with half a dozen college students to play pick-me-up games of Ultimate Frisbee.
Crossroads Academy is a charter high school with curriculum that extends beyond the core academics. According to Lisa Burdick, the head teacher at Crossroads, the school also specializes in project-based learning and service learning. Students spend very few hours in a traditional classroom setting, and instead, they work on individual projects that they select themselves. Most students also spend several hours a week at a work placement or internship, applying the skills they’ve learned to the real life and earning valuable job experience.
Like most high schools these days, recess does not exist at Crossroads, and, because of its unique individual project curriculum, neither does physical education. However, several times a year, students from Crossroads Academy play sports with Ripon College students.
“It was fun… I liked it a lot” notes a Crossroads student about the Ultimate Frisbee game on September 13. Although the score was not tallied, both sides played with their all and had a lot of fun.
“There was a lot of ‘yaying’ and ‘naying’,” another Crossroads student notes, especially when a team scored. Sophomore Alex Patza was one of the college students to join in the cheering for both week’s game.
“These games are good for both the Crossroads students and Ripon College students. It teaches both how to work together with people you wouldn't normally interact with. It also teaches the basics of working together as a team. Plus it’s just fun to take a break from normal day activities.”
As a member of Ripon’s Ultimate Frisbee Club and as someone who had worked with Crossroads students last year Patza had personal ties to this event.
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| The gangs all here! |
“I was more than willing to play and see some of the students from last year again,” she shares. “It’s hard to say what my favorite thing about the games is, but I really enjoy seeing the Crossroads students enjoying themselves as much as they do.”
Although the Crossroads Ultimate Frisbee games have finished for the fall, this unique partnership continues. Ripon College and Crossroads will be pairing up next in November for basketball games. If you are interested in coaching or playing, contact Emelia Erickson at ericksone@Ripon.edu.
The Office of Community Engagement strives to provide opportunities for all members of campus to have easily accessible volunteer opportunities. To learn more about what you can do in the community, visit the Office of Community Engagement on the second floor of Hardwood Union, at www.ripon.edu/oce or by emailing oce@ripon.edu.
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