In October, mostly all of Graded’s High Schoolers went on a trip of their choice. One of the choices was Pantanal, a beautiful natural region that is one of the world’s largest tropical land area. The activities during the trip were numerous, some included: horseback riding, canoeing, hiking, star watching, and motorboat riding. During the trip, students and teachers had to reflect on the core values, some of which are shared below:

Tobias Ceriani (10): “The best habit of learner that reflects my week in the Pantanal is curiosity. During the trip, I kept thinking about how different my life is compared to the people that live in the area and what their jobs are.”

Tomas Angelini (10): “I feel as though the habit of a learner that I was able to best represent during my week in the Pantanal was being curious. This is due to the fact that during different activities, I tried my best to ask as many questions as possible to the guides and peers around me. These questions had to do with anything from the names and behaviours of different animals to the various effects of climate change here, and so on.”

Mr. Reynolds: “The habit of a learner that best expresses this week for me is risk-taker. By coming to the Pantanal, I moved out of my comfort zone, and was rewarded with a wonderful time horse riding and hiking, things I wouldn’t normally choose to do.”

Josefina Perez Jimenez (10): “I believe that I was curious during the Pantanal trip because I listened, commented and asked questions during the whole trip. I made different connections with things that I previously learned and asked about things I was curious to know more about. I also suggested to go star watching at night because I was curious about what we could see in the night sky in such a different setting than São Paulo. I believe that my curiosity made this trip very fun, as well as helped me learn more about Pantanal.”

Ms.O’Connor: “My week in the Pantanal can be summed up by the word reflective. My favorite thing about being in nature is that I’m able to let stress go, stay in the moment and remember how lucky I am to be in such a beautiful place.”

For more core values and beautiful pictures of Pantanal, check out @pantaneagles on Instagram!