Academics

Experiential Learning

Winterim

Winterim is Dawson's signature program. An annual experience that provides K-12 students an opportunity to dive deeply into a special topic, culture, or activity. Winterim is an intentional exploration curated to inspire, educate, and teach critical soft skills.

Winterim is faculty-designed in conjunction with our Director of Experiential Education and requires students to challenge their mind, body, and character.

Winterim by Grade-Level

List of 3 items.

Grades K-4

Students in grades K-4 have special on-campus activities, guests, and field trips centered on a theme, such as world cultures.
Grades 5-6

Grades 5-6 travel as a grade to an outdoor education center in Colorado for fun team-building and science-based activities.
Grades 7-12

Grades 7-12 explore various educational options outside the classroom, with local, domestic, and international experiences.

Class Trips

In addition to Winterim, class trips take place every year in the fall or spring. It's a great time for students to reconnect with their peers and teachers. Class trips introduce students to new environments, cultures, collaborative projects, and community service.

Challenge Course

Our ropes course and climbing wall are available to middle and upper school students. In middle school, students complete a challenge course class. The course teaches students how to use the ropes course safely and provides a real-world setting to practice goal setting, critical thinking, communication, and teamwork.

Field Trips

Dawson students take 6-8 field trips a year. They include simple excursions like visiting a local Mercado to practice Spanish, an afternoon at Meow Wolf to see art concepts brought to life or an after-hours trip to a cadaver lab.

Classroom

With the average class being 15 students, we have the luxury of making classroom experiences active and hands-on. Music is brought to life from a visit by the Boulder Philharmonic, painting lessons are done in the open space behind our Arts Center, and physics class can take advantage of warm weather to conduct a solar balloon experiment.