TOWAMENCIN– After three years of intense planning and determination to succeed and receive approval, the P.E. Department at North Penn High School has finally had its grand proposal approved by the school board. Students will no longer struggle to choose their senior year gym electives, for the plans of the 2015-2016 school year will make the choice a no-brainer.

Adventure ed teacher Mrs. Kathleen Kelley took matters into her own hands three years ago when she realized that the rock walls in the gymnasium were no match for the students.

“School is supposed to challenge students,” said Kelley. “If you see a student breeze through a math problem in an honors class, you should bump them up to AP. So since I always saw so many students climbing our most difficult walls without a problem, I decided we need an ‘AP’ form of the class. So, I thought, why don’t we do something more challenging? That’s why we decided that we’re going to start off the year with a fieldtrip–to the Himalayas!”

Fifty lucky students will depart in early October to begin their six week expedition. Armed only with essentials, the students will also challenge the earth’s highest peak– Mount Everest.

“It’s going to be an amazing opportunity for students,” said Kelley. “They say that to make a kid swim, put him in a pool. He’ll learn. Want your kid to finally ride that bike? Take off the training wheels and let him go. So, if we want to make these kids good at extremely professional rock-climbing, why don’t we just throw them on this mountain and let them figure it out for themselves.”

Because of limited space in the class, students who are interested must apply to become a part of the class. Fifty applicants will be selected based on skills in teamwork and communication, along with essential qualities such such as determination and effort. Students must also have extreme survival skills since Mount Everest could potentially be quite dangerous.

“It’s great for their first time,” Kelley said enthusiastically. “By immediately placing them in a real life climbing situation under some stress and pressure, students will have to quickly master both basic and advanced climbing techniques on their own. The adrenaline that should kick in during a risky situation like dangling off the side of Mount Everest will prevent students from giving up.”

The fifty lucky applicants will be notified in June regarding their acceptance into the program. Besides a $10,000 traveling fee and the purchase of necessities like a harness and rope, participation in the program is of no cost.

The second field trip involves an adventurous climb up the side of Niagara Falls, and other field trips involve fun missions in the Grand Canyon, the Sahara Desert, and many more.

Fill out your application by April 2nd and submit to Mrs. Kelley so that you don’t miss out on the experience of a lifetime.