The Outing Club is an extracurricular group that takes full advantage of the diverse nature of the Northeast Kingdom. Social Studies teacher Phil Shaw is in charge of this group of 24 students whose main desire is to get outside and have some fun. The Outing Club encourages students to pursue an active and healthy lifestyle through outdoor recreation and exercise.

The first outing of the year for the Outing Club was a bike trip to Brighton State Park. The students and Mr. Shaw did their best to channel their inner Lance Armstrong to get all the way to Brighton, but then took some time to relax and enjoy the wilderness. To see photos of this field trip, click here.

In an effort to raise money for the rest of their scheduled field trips, the club held its annual "Cow Pie Bingo" event. Each club member is required to sell tickets that represent a square on the pasture. A cow is brought into the designated square, and left to roam about within the confines of the "bingo board" until it feels the need to relieve itself of last night's dinner. The winner is determined by whose square the pie lands upon.

With the funds raised through bingo, the Outing Club took a trip to Manchester to enjoy some indoor rock climbing and partake in a minor-league hockey game. Despite the physical fatigue usually associated with rock climbing, the students where able to cheer hard for the Manchester Monarchs, who handily defeated the Portland Pirates 4-0 that night.

The Outing Club also braved the cold of winter this year by making a snowshoe expedition to Principal Chris Masson's hunting camp in Pittsburg. In addition to learning about their surroundings and the environment, its a safe bet to say that the students were treated to a few wise words and life lessons from Mr. Masson.

When the snow melts, the club plans to take another mountain biking trip to bring an eventful year to a close. As always, the Outing Club will be looking for new members next fall.