Field trip

MERCER EIGHTH grade student Sydney Thompson takes on the Camp Manito-wish rock climbing wall as parents and friends look on during a field trip last month at the camp in Boulder Junction, Wis. Mercer’s whole eighth grade class took the trip, held April 23-25. Activities included rock climbing, basket weaving, night hiking, group problem solving, practicing primitive survival skills. The trip aims to challenge students physically, mentally and socially and teach leadership skills in a natural setting outside the school in Mercer, Wis., a news release said. Staff, parents, school board members and administration joined students for a potluck meal on the last evening of the trip.