Garden City resident, Abigail Lyons (center), takes on the ropes course at Camp Glen Brook in Marlborough, New Hampshire during the Waldorf School's Freshmen Orientation. Students and faculty at the Waldorf School of Garden City officially welcomed the school's freshmen class to the high school last week at Camp Glen Brook, the school's 250-acre extension campus, in Marlborough, New Hampshire. Since 1996, this 3-day orientation precedes the start of school and offers new students the opportunity to meet fellow classmates as well as upper class students. Past participants attest that their orientation experience was a great way to begin their high school career.

"Camp Glen Brook offers a year-round program of environmental education, practical work, and community building. It is a beloved destination of our alumni and the perfect place for new students to form friendships that will support them through their high school years" said Louis Bullard, Assistant Director of Camp Glen Brook.

Throughout the school year, grades 5 through 12 each take a week-long trip to Glen Brook where they become immersed in the physical experience of their academic studies. Astronomy, botany, geology, cartography and history come to life amid the farm, fields and forests of Waldorf's New Hampshire campus. At Glen Brook, students and teachers also work side by side to tend to the farm animals, prepare meals, cut and split wood, maintain buildings and grounds and complete whatever chores this rural setting requires. In addition, Glen Brook has a high ropes challenge course which students experience in high school.

During the High School orientation, students enjoyed three days of canoeing, swimming, a night hike up Gap Mountain, as well as games and trust exercises. With a successful orientation trip and opening day behind them, the class of 2010 can look forward to their high school journey. In May, they will return as part of their Main Lesson course in American Literature.

The Waldorf School of Garden City is chartered by the New York State Board of Regents and accredited by the New York State Association of Independent Schools and the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA). Camp Glen Brook, the school's 250-acre extension campus, is accredited by the American Camp Association (ACA). For more information about the school, please call 742-3434 ext. 129 or visit www.waldorfgarden.org. The school will host an Open House on Saturday, October 14, from 10:00 am to 12:30 pm.