<p>Dear Lovett families,</p><p>One of the defining Lovett traditions is the right of passage into senior year known as JOE – the Junior Outdoor Expedition. Each year after exams, the entire junior class journeys into the scenic Pisgah National Forest on a 5-day backpacking expedition, joined by their teachers and other members of the Lovett community. It’s not until they emerge from the forest to reunite with their classmates, grab some pizza, and don the well-earned JOE t-shirt does Lovett have a new senior class.</p><p>Every year students return from JOE excited by this unique experience. Students learn about peers they only knew in passing. They bond with people they might not have spoken to in high school. And at this crucial time in their development, they learn self- reliance and confidence in challenging situations.</p><p>Ensuring that each student has a positive JOE experience is a priority for the school, and months of training and planning occurs every year. One of the greatest determinants of a student’s enjoyment is having the right equipment. Some families have all the gear they need, while others may not have the right equipment. This leads to families hunting for rentals or purchasing equipment that may only be used sparingly after this one trip.</p><p>Recognizing this can be an additional hurdle towards having a fun JOE trip, we thought to make it easier by helping connect those families with equipment they are not using during the JOE week to those families that would only need that equipment for this one occasion. If you would be willing to lend a backpacking pack, hiking boots, sleeping bag, and/or sleeping pad to a Lovett family, please let us know. We’ll collect this information by April 8 and then share that information with the families of the junior class. Families will contact you directly, and it will be made clear to individuals that they are responsible for wear and tear and cleaning the equipment before it is returned.</p><p>If you’ve got backpacking equipment not in use right now, please consider allowing a Lovett family to borrow your gear for JOE. Complete this form to let us know what you have to offer. This will make the experience all the more memorable!</p><p>Thank you,</p><p>Nolan Morris Upper School Science</p>