“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” – Robert Frost

The shores of Howard Lake blossom on a September morning as autumn nears. A vivid spectrum speckles the fauna. The woods fill with color and laughter of Libby Middle School seventh-graders.

It was an outing of symbolic wisdom, a coming-of-age for these Kootenai youth. As they trudged into the wild, middle school principal Ron Goodman met them at a crossroads.

“In five years you will be seniors,” he said before pointing to one path downhill and one uphill.

“One path appears difficult, one appears easy. If you go down that path, it leads to nowhere, back to the beginning,” Goodman continued. “If you head up, there lies a view from a summit and a gold mine. You have to practice making good decisions, you are not children any more.”

Earlier, Goodman had instructed the students to find a rock and carry it with them on the hike.

At the symbolic intersection, Goodman handed out a permanent marker to each and had them sign or initial their rocks and place them next to a marker on the side of the trail. He made it a place where the students could come to reflect on this moment, as well as the choices they have made.

This was the first Howard Lake field trip, which he plans to make an annual seventh-grade outing. Each grade, from fourth through seventh will participate in their own respective annual adventures.

Goodman hopes these rituals will be a “way to form relationships with the students.”

“It is a neat way to start the year,” Goodman said with a smile.

The students traveled to a series of workshops where they were introduced to ROAR: respect, organization, attitude and responsibility.

Janette Turk, a fire prevention officer in Libby, had each of the students write on a piece of paper.

“Write down something you want to improve about yourself,” Turk instructed. “Something you may not like about yourself.”

Then she had them throw it into the fire, letting it go, ashes of a past and the passion to move forward.

The young adults traveled on, each station reinforcing the ROAR principles – not only to respect themselves and one another, but also to respect the world in which they are a part of Š from land and wildlife to botany and art.

The journey was designed set the student’s creativity free and teach them ingenuity within nature.

Art instructor April Lucier used elements gathered in the environment – such as grass and berries – to help the seventh-graders put visions onto canvas.

Educators hope the Howard Lake adventure gives life to universal principles and that the students will learn to ROAR their way onward.

Goodman believed the day was a success and that the students upheld his paramount message, “honor one another.”