With fall in full swing, Sanford’s BRIDGE program brought its elementary and middle school-aged students to McDougal Orchard on September 24 for a day of apple-picking, real-world learning, and community connection.
The BRIDGE program is a part of our Sanford schools community dedicated to supporting students through personalized learning plans and collaborative goal-setting, serving those whose learning and social-emotional needs benefit from an approach tailored to their individual strengths, goals, and circumstances.
The field trip they took to McDougal Orchard was part of their Fun Friday series, where students journey out into the Sanford community for enriching social and academic learning experiences. These outings are more than simple weekly entertainment. For students in BRIDGE, field trips are a part of a reward system designed with the goal of allowing students to practice essential life skills like teamwork, respect, collaboration, and emotional regulation. As students work toward their weekly Fun Friday excursions, the trips give them something to aim for while allowing them to put those skills into practice in real-world settings.
These trips also provide valuable opportunities for BRIDGE staff to cultivate and strengthen their relationships with students outside of the classroom. Whether they’re touring orchards or walking down to the local library, the small staff-to-student ratios allow educators to offer individualized guidance as students navigate social interactions and practice connecting and communicating with others outside of classroom settings.
This is the second year that BRIDGE has visited McDougal Orchard thanks to the generosity of the McDougal family, who once again funded the students’ trip. Polly McDougal, the daughter of seventh generation McDougal apple farmers, led students on a tour of the main facility, giving demonstrations of how apples get from tree to table and transformed into products like applesauce or cider. Polly then fitted all students and staff with bags to pick their own apples before sending them off to the orchard.
The McDougal family's generosity is greatly appreciated by Sanford schools, as it allows students to participate in new experiences they wouldn’t otherwise encounter. For Victor, the outing marked his first time apple-picking at an orchard. Alongside his classmates, he was amazed by the orchard's 4,000 trees. Filling his bag and sampling apples as he went, Victor competed with Walter, Tucker, Allura, Finnick, and Jojo to see who could find the largest apple. When asked how he enjoyed his first visit to an orchard, Victor said simply, "It was fun,” though his toothy grin suggested there was more behind those brief words.
Beyond the skills students practice, these outings offer something equally important: the chance to explore the community around them and enjoy an experience alongside their peers. As students wandered through the orchard, Allura befriended ladybugs, Jojo kicked around fallen apples, and Finnick raced through the corn maze. For BRIDGE Ed Tech Sandi Hewitt, these are among the most meaningful parts of the trips. “What I really love about these trips is that people get to see our kids being kids - they don't get to just be kids very often.”
Experiences like these reflect Sanford schools' commitment to supporting the whole student. Whether that be through providing enriching classroom instruction or reinforcing necessary life skills through community connection, the mission behind the work is all the same: preparing all learners with the tools they need to grow and succeed, both in and beyond the classroom.