central rock Archives - Waypoint Adventure MA

It’s A Wrap! Somerville 2019

June 12, 2019/in Hiking, Kayaking, Past Programs, Rock Climbing, Ropes Course, Schools, Series

24 Programs! Our biggest partnership ever! What an awesome year it has been with the thriving Special Education Department of Somerville Public Schools. Thanks to a Cummings Foundation grant the Somerville SPED Department received and the tireless efforts of Wellness Coordinator and friend, Caitlin Kelly, Waypoint was BACK in Somerville for the 2018-2019 school year designing and facilitating quality adventure-education programs for 19 different classes across the district. Social-Emotional Learning was happening on these programs: students immersed in problem solving scenarios, supported by the process of learning and community, and given the right to take on challenging experiences and we saw it in action – the perfect recipe for character building come to life.

These programs were not just work for us. The buy-in from teachers and administrators made this series a joy to facilitate. We even had volunteers come out on one program and come back again and again and again because of how much fun they had just being a part of these days! Shoutout to Jim Bradley, Sylvana Weinstein, and some awesome repeat groups from Definitive Cares and The Shady Hill School. This community is vibrant and excelling because of your support!

You HAVE to peruse some of the pictures below. It felt like a family photo album putting these together and laughing about ridiculous things that happened on programs and awesome students, teachers, and volunteers we met along the way. Here are some snapshots from all of the programs we ran with Somerville during 2018-2019:

10/25/18 Ropes Course at Hale Reservation

11/14/18 Hike in the Middlesex Fells

12/19/18 Indoor Rock Climbing at Central Rock Watertown

1/9/19 Indoor Rock Climbing at Central Rock Watertown

1/11/19 Hike at Prospect Hill in Waltham

1/15/19 Indoor Rock Climbing at Central Rock Watertown

1/23/19 Hike at Ward Reservation in Andover

1/30/19 Indoor Kayaking at the Kennedy School in Somerville

2/5/19 Hike at Ward Reservation in Andover

2/13/19 Indoor Kayaking at the Kennedy School in Somerville

2/27/19 Indoor Kayaking at the Kennedy School in Somerville

3/19/19 Hike at Harold Parker State Forest in Andover

3/27/19 Indoor Kayaking at the Kennedy School in Somerville

3/28/19 Indoor Rock Climbing at Central Rock Watertown

4/2/19 Outdoor Rock Climbing at Hammond Pond in Newton

4/10/19 Hike at Breakheart Reservation in Wakefield

4/24/19 Hike at Lynn Woods in Lynn

5/1/19 Indoor Rock Climbing at Central Rock Watertown

5/15/19 Hike at Lynn Woods in Lynn

5/16/19 Hike at Prospect Hill in Waltham

5/23/19 Outdoor Rock Climbing at Hammond Pond in Newton

5/24/19 Hike at Breakheart Reservation in Wakefield

5/29/19 Indoor Kayaking at the Kennedy School in Somerville

6/5/19 Kayaking on the Charles River in Allston

We can’t thank our site partners from Central Rock Gym, Paddle Boston – Charles River Canoe and Kayak, Kennedy School Pool, and Massachusetts DCR enough for supporting this programming. THANK YOU!

And THANK YOU to all the students for participating, and the teachers and administrators that helped coordinate transportation, get forms filled out, opened the pool, and made sure adventure programming fit seamlessly into your curriculum. We believe it’s so important and it’s encouraging to see others agree. Looking forward to next year!

A unique series in skill-progression

December 10, 2018/in Latest News, Rock Climbing, Series, Uncategorized, Volunteer

We just wrapped up an awesome Rock Climbing series with LABBB Collaborative! It’s not often a group will contact us and say they want to do a focused series on one adventure-type in particular, but this school was all for it! They wanted to progress in their rock climbing and self-confidence skills!

LABBB Collaborative, based in Bedford, Massachusetts, serves students with disabilities from Lexington, Arlington, Belmont, Burlington, and Bedford and helps them reach their potential by integrating academics, social, recreational, and vocational services. This was year-two of an awesome Waypoint+LABBB partnership and 6 participants this year really progressed! We spent four Wednesday nights at Central Rock Gym in Watertown raising the bar for each individual’s level of challenge and working on autonomous decision-making. With ample time devoted to all the skills of rock climbing, each participant got a chance to learn knots, all about gear, and even belaying!

By the end of the series, students were working hard, implementing climbing strategies, and were responsible for their own knot-tying and equipment! It was awesome to watch this group form and progress in skill. Check out pictures from our series!

As always, we are so grateful for all our volunteers (Mary and Jim!) and our partnership with Central Rock Gym. Without you all, we would not be able to run successful programs!

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!

That’s A Wrap! Somerville 2017-2018

June 26, 2018/in Kayaking, Schools, Uncategorized

Another school term in the books! Over the past year, Waypoint Adventure has had the privilege to work with over 13 special education classes from all over the Somerville Public School system. Seven program types were run (ropes course, indoor/outdoor rock climbing, indoor kayaking, hiking, snowshoeing and team building), which gave over 100 students the opportunity to experience adventure!

For most of participants, this was their first time ever going on a hike or rock climbing or to a ropes course. Roughly 92% of the students from Somerville that came out on an adventure program with us were experiencing that type of adventure for the first time. There is a real need to get more kids out in nature, on adventures and into their local community!

We are so grateful to have worked with such incredible students, facility, and administration this year at Somerville Public Schools. Thank you to all the volunteers and coordinators that made these programs possible and so successful. But…It’s not over yet!!

Thanks to a very generous grant given by the Cummings Foundation to the Somerville Public Schools, we are excited about the potential of continued programming with SPS!”

Here are some pictures of the last program we ran with Somerville Public Schools:

April 2018: Indoor Kayaking; Thanks for volunteering Definitive Cares!

To see our other posts about Somerville Public Schools, click the links below:

Beginning-year Somerville Programs

Mid-year Somerville Programs

Life-Learning Alongside Newton Group Home

December 15, 2016/in Latest News, Rock Climbing, Series

Waypoint is teaming up with a group home from Specialized Housing for another exciting series of adventures throughout 2017! This home, started by a cohort of parents, found Waypoint in their search for more adventure opportunities and we’re really excited to embark on a few months of exploration and learning together.

The series kicked off this week with an evening of climbing at Central Rock Gym. Everyone came with great attitudes and excitement, so we got right to it. Each individual led the group in a stretch and some workout activities to warm up before getting on the walls.

Following the warm up we spent some time exploring different types of rock climbing equipment and their usage. We also did a few activities to frame the night, and the upcoming series of programs, around the concept of embracing challenge.

Residents who had never climbed before surprised themselves and each other by how quickly they saw success. Even the staff joined in and tried a few climbs. Laughing together and cheering each other on as they face challenges is one step on the path we hope to travel with these concepts as our stepping stones.

“It is because of support that we are able to face the challenges before us”, said one of the residents.

We’re excited to continue with these residents and staff over the next few months. Keep your eyes open for a post about our upcoming snowshoe adventure in February and check out this post about our kayaking program this past summer!

Last but not least, a big thanks goes out to Zoe and Jim for volunteering their time and being a part of our group!

The Yachad Community goes rock climbing

November 2, 2016/in Latest News, Rock Climbing

It was an awesome day of climbing this Sunday at Central Rock Gym in Watertown with Yachad. Yachad, The National Jewish Council for Disabilities is a thriving global organization dedicated to addressing the needs of all Jewish individuals with disabilities and ensuring their inclusion in every aspect of Jewish life. The New England Yachad community is a unique and close-knit group of individuals that support one another and push each other to achieve great things. It’s been a pleasure to partner with this positive team of adults for two adventures this year and Sunday was no exception. A huge thank you to Central Rock for accommodating our big group!

Big Accomplishments for Brookline Rec

October 20, 2016/in Rock Climbing

Brookline’s Therapeutic Recreation department makes an effort to promote positive personal growth and independence in the lives of adults with disabilities. Last week, they met Waypoint at Central Rock Indoor Climbing Gym in Watertown to do just that.

One participant was a familiar face! She was reconnecting with Waypoint after having been on several programs back in 2010 and her mother recounted how the challenges she’s faced on Waypoint programs have made an outstanding impact on who she has grown up to be! We know adventure experiences make a difference when we hear stories like that!

Another young man was excited by the size of the gym and was busy the whole night. He climbed nine different routes and loved every one! There were big accomplishments this night and we look forward to more adventures with such a positive, adventurous group. Thanks Brookline Rec!

Adventure Learning is Back at Somerville Public Schools

September 30, 2016/in Latest News, Rock Climbing, Series

The Experiential Education model works! Waypoint’s adventure-learning program is back for the second year in a row in the Special Education Department at Somerville Public Schools and the impact is evident in teachers’ reactions after a day of rock climbing at Central Rock Gym: “I’m blown away with how my students participated! We work hard with [Michael] to use complete sentences in the classroom and he was doing that naturally today!” said Ms. Sweeney from the Kennedy School. Students like Michael took on the challenge of putting on a climbing harness, tying into the ropes, climbing the rock wall, and working together as a team to support one another.

It was all set-up during a Teambuilding exercise in their gymnasium a week prior to our climbing adventure. Students got to explore the concepts of supporting one another and working as a team by passing a ball through the group in a certain order as fast as they could. Effective teams take practice and Waypoint is building them in Somerville. We’re thrilled to be back for Year 2 and are looking forward to over 20 more adventures coming up! Click to watch the story of a boy named Matthew from Somerville and gain more insight into how this partnership works.

Volunteer Training 2016

June 14, 2016/in Kayaking, Latest News, Special Events, Volunteer

From EPIC‘s Ableism Training on Friday night at Central Rock to the docks at Wayland Town Beach on Saturday, Waypoint volunteers surprised us again. This community of adventure-learning enthusiasts is sharp, intentional, passionate, and FUN! Engaging in “real talk” disability topics, playing Human Bingo, getting in and out of boats, and paddling Lake Cochituate was all a blast with this group. Thank you to everyone who came out and for the work behind the scenes that made this possible! Thank you Central Rock Watertown, Mary Snow, Jessica Brodie, and the Town of Wayland. If you couldn’t make Volunteer Training, you can still volunteer! Visit www.waypointadventure.org/volunteering to check out our calendar and email Julia to sign up.

Rock Climbing with The Kennedy School

May 4, 2016/in Latest News, Past Programs, Rock Climbing

At Central Rock in Watertown, seven middle-school students were on the walls, yet one girl who had difficulty balancing due to her cerebral palsy didn’t have permission from home to climb. She helped belay for her classmates and cheered them on all day eagerly asking teachers every few minutes if home had called yet. Finally, after every student was done climbing, Kara got the call and suited up to try. Our goal for the day had been teamwork and her team rose to the occasion when she needed them the most. Through tears of nervousness, Kara climbed while her teammates encouraged!

“She was a good team member by showing us what she could do,” said one student in our closing circle.

For Kara and many of her classmates, the moment of overcoming fear and taking on a challenge will serve as a reminder of what she is capable of!

Rock Climbing with Perkins Camp Abilities

April 21, 2016/in Annnouncements, Latest News, Uncategorized

Believe you can achieve! At Perkins School for the Blind, Camp Abilities’ motto this year is all about taking on challenges and BELIEVING you can overcome! We’re thankful that we got to climb with these stellar groups! It was awesome to see how challenging ourselves and encouraging one another can help us believe that we can achieve! Check out last year’s Camp Abilities video to get a feel for what these nights are like: http://www.perkins.org/get-involved/events/camp-abilities

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