team building 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!

Winter Summit 2019

April 1, 2019/in Backpacking, Hiking, Latest News, Open Enrollment, Special Events

Waypoint Adventure conquered Mt. Willlard for our 8th annual Winter Summit Weekend!

Filled with anticipation and excitement, the group of 9 set out for the Highland Center in legendary Crawford Notch, NH. For some, it was another chance to summit Mt. Willard. For others, it was their first experience being up in the White Mountains in winter and hiking there with new friends.

The theme for this year was this: It Matters. Throughout the weekend, group members were given the challenge of reflecting on the decisions that they made and interactions that they had with each other to determine why they matter.

On the final night together, everyone shared their favorite moments from the trip. Some things that were said were: “This was the most challenging hike I have ever done, but I feel so proud of myself for doing it!”, “I needed this. This empowered me to get out into the world.”, and “This was excellent! (coming from a participant who uses limited speech)”.

After each person shared their favorite moment, they were given a cutout piece of the map from the trail they had just hiked. With a sharpie, each person wrote their favorite part on the back of this piece and had to figure out how their pieces came together to form the whole map. Without all the pieces, the map would have been incomplete. By the end, everyone realized that all the small things can make a huge difference in our lives. They Matter.

While the summit of Mt. Willard was truly a magical and special place, the weekend was made complete through the difficult journey up and down the mountain, eating way too much food, and hanging out with quality people in the lodge (not to mention the endless games of corn hole and ping-pong to boot!). Mt. Willard was just the icing on the cake.

But don’t take our word for it! Below are some pictures from the weekend.

Lodge Life:

Hike:

We are so grateful to have such a welcoming and loving community of people come out with us every year. 2019 was a very special year and we hope to continue the tradition in 2020. Thank you to AMC YOP for extra gear and the reservation at the Highland Center, Peter Fuller Vans (shout out to Jim Cubeta!) for the van and everyone else who made this all possible.

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!

Hike in the Fells!

April 20, 2018/in Achievements, Group Homes, Hiking, Latest News, Past Programs, Series, Volunteer

Well, it turned spring in New England (we’re pretty sure), and the lingering cold hasn’t stopped us from getting outside. In March, we hit the Middlesex Fells with a close-knit group from Specialized Housing, Inc. Six adults who live together in a group home in Newton were up for the challenge and it all paid off as the sun poked through and we actually got an awesome day!

Our goal was to challenge ourselves (physically, mentally, and socially) while also take intentional steps towards supporting all members of the group. After some group initiatives like “Name Toss” and “Wompum,” the group set off towards Panther Cave near Bellevue Pond. Everyone started off with micro-spikes on their boots; however, after several minutes, everyone decided that they would trudge on without them. Along the way, the group encountered a river crossing that took all hands on deck to get everyone across. Check out pictures from the day!

After Panther Cave, the group was motivated to get to the summit of Pine Hill, which was home to Wright’s Tower and a beautiful view of the Boston skyline. With several steep hills and the snow and ice adding to the difficulty of the trek, the group (literally) went hand and hand all the way up to the tower.

As the group made their way back to the parking lot for the end of the adventure, they stopped at cement bench to debrief and reflect on the challenges they had faced throughout the day. All were filled with smiles and laughs as each volunteer gave a special shout-out and a rock to each participant to commemorate their journey throughout the hike and the bond they share with their fellow housemates.

All in all, the group pushed themselves to their limits and supported each other throughout. We can’t wait to see what will happen next with this group on their upcoming indoor rock climbing adventure in May!

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.

Days like this…

August 26, 2016/in Kayaking, Latest News

Some programs simply can’t be captured in words or pictures. You just have to be there. This was one of those days. It was mid August and, as it sometimes does in New England, the air was completely free of humidity and haze. It was crystal clear and the sky was as blue as the ocean we were paddling on!

When the students from the May Institute showed up to the beach we knew right away, their attitude matched the weather. They were bright, sunny and excited to take on the adventure.

After a quick briefing of the day and a few teambuilding activities to get the group acclimated, we spent time teaching some basic paddling skills to help the students prepare. Once everyone felt comfortable, we set out for a long journey around Worlds End and Rocky Neck and then up into the Weir River Estuary. It was truly remarkable! There were so many different types of birds and fish were umping everywhere!

After getting back to the beach and unpacking our boats we sat down for a little debrief session, as we always do. At the end of our discussion, after a lot of laughs, we asked the students to talk about their “high moment” for the day. Many students talked about the weather and the feel of the cool water on such a hot day. Others expressed how good if felt to be free and paddle “wherever they wanted”. Another said they’ll remember, “paddling on the ocean and getting the chance to help my friend.” One student even said ,”this was the best day of my summer”!

As simple as it may seem, it’s clear to us, these students were impacted….probably more impacted than they realized right away. Days like this don’t come that often but when they do we realize how much we need them. Enjoy the scenery!

A big THANK YOU goes out to the Trustees of the Reservation for allowing us to use Worlds End as a launching site for this and many other programs.

Time on the Water with Assabet Valley Collaborative

July 29, 2016/in Kayaking, Latest News

There was no better way to beat the heat this week than on a kayaking program with Assabet Valley Collaborative. Although we had participants with varying kayaking experience, all were excited to cool down on the water! Our three reminders for the day were to encourage one another, stay safe, and be cool. We were able to do these things and more as we paddled along the Charles and talked about our waypoints for the day.

One participant’s “waypoint”, or memory from the day, was simply dipping her hand in the water as we paddled. We always enjoy our time with Assabet Valley Collaborative and look forward to seeing them again soon!

Going over our schedule for the day which included our reminders to encourage one another, to stay safe, and to be cool!

Practicing our paddle strokes and turns.

Nothing but smiles out on the water!

Making new friends and having a peaceful paddle!

“Putting my hand in the Charles River felt nice.”

Stay cool Waypoint friends!

If you are looking for a way to “stay cool” in this crazy Boston heat, come join us on one of our kayaking programs either as a volunteer or a participant! Click here for remaining trip dates.

Teambuilding at Mario Umana Academy

May 5, 2016/in Latest News, Past Programs

FUN is the best word to describe the teambuilding series we did with this class from Mario Umana Academy! Through games and challenging activities, we practiced having fun by being safe, responsible, and respectful. We chased balls, played zookeeper, and created a circle of fun including examples of staying safe, doing our part, and being a friend. These kids’ smiles and enthusiastic attitudes were contagious!

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