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Trojan Outdoor Experience

Trojan Outdoor Experience (TOE) Mission

The objectives of the Trojan Outdoor Experience (TOE) program are to increase, primarily through outdoor adventure-based activities, the respect students have for themselves, each other, and the natural world, while learning through authentic experiences; and thus to support the School’s overall mission.

Specifically, TOE seeks to:
  • support fine scholarship by modeling, teaching, and practicing individual and group-based decision making and by guiding students through reflective evaluation of their learning. TOE seeks to help students learn more deeply by providing opportunities for hands-on experiences that have immediate consequential feedback regardless of the field of study;

  • promote the development of wide, constructive interests by enabling students to explore and pursue varied activities in the natural world;

  • help students become responsible global citizens who recognize their role of stewardship from their environment to communities across the world; and

  • strengthen the development of strong moral character through group problem-solving in experiential learning that provides tangible learning outcomes and meaningful personal connections.

Overview of the TOE experience at Trinity Valley School

The Trojan Outdoor Experience (TOE) Program engages students in outdoor adventure, environmental education, experiential learning, and wilderness expedition programming. The program involves events that range from expected to voluntary participation throughout a student's career at TVS.

TOE has been a key fixture on our campus since 1980 and helps facilitate learning through primarily outdoor experiences which serve to help students better understand and respect themselves, their peers, and the natural world. A major goal of every event is creating, deepening, and nurturing class culture.  

The TOE program is supported through all departments and has two full-time faculty members serving as director and assistant director; there is one part-time medical supervisor.  

Programs generally fall into three categories: TOE Core, TOE Select, and TOE Beyond.

TOE Beyond Trips 2024

First page of the PDF file: Yellowstone
First page of the PDF file: TOEBEYONDCOSTARICA

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WDMT Trail Leaderboard 2024

Join us on the trail and see if you can get the most miles and get your name on the leaderboard! If you would like to input your distance just click on this link to insert your miles after each walk/run. You can also find one of the QR codes located at the pavilion or along the trail to put your miles in. We would like to thank Dr. Philip Taylor for creating the leaderboard. Enjoy and have a great walk!

Szalen Ellis, Assistant Director of Experiential Education

Szalan Ellis
Director of Experiential Education

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Ellen Jacobs '14
Assistant Director of Experiential Education

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Email

TOE Booklet

Click on the booklet to learn more!

First page of the PDF file: Booklet

Ever wondered what a TOE Beyond Trip is like?

Thank you to TVS student Travis Zavaleta for putting together this awesome video of our Colorado Summer 2021 trip!

TOE Instagram

    PHOTOS/VIDEOS FROM OUR ADVENTURES

    Wyatt Donahue '12 Memorial Trail

    Trinity Valley School is proud to share that the Wyatt Donahue '12 Memorial Trail is now open! 

    As a way to celebrate Wyatt's passion for the TVS TOE program, his parents Angela and David Donahue made a gift in his memory to support the construction of a multi-use trail for walking, running, and mountain biking around the perimeter of our campus. In addition, the trail is being used for on-campus TOE experiences and cross-country team training. 

    We are excited that the trail gives our alumni, current, and prospective families an opportunity to more thoroughly enjoy TVS's 75 acres. 

    Uniquely TVS, the newest addition to our campus reflects the school’s values and acknowledges the abiding relationship between TVS and its students. This new addition encircles our community, challenges our students, and stands as a loving memorial to a young man who touched so many lives.

    The act of creating this trail for the use of our community today and for generations of Trojans to come is not a silent emblem of a life passed away. Instead, Dr. and Mrs. Donahue and the TVS community have created a dynamic and vibrant path that calls us to delight in the out-of-doors, to savor and strengthen our abilities, and to live fully into the joy that life offers us all.

    The Trail is open dawn to dusk during normal campus hours.
    To help us maintain the trail, please refrain from using it after a heavy rain or severe weather.