teambuilding Archives - Waypoint Adventure MA

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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!

2 Months of Teamwork

November 18, 2017/in Achievements, Latest News, Past Programs, Schools, Series, Support, Uncategorized

This fall, Waypoint was invited to work with a group of high-school students in an 8-week long after-school series. The focus of this program was centered around one goal: team.

What is a team? A team is a group of people that work together to accomplish a goal or task. And over the course of 2 months, these students certainly got to work towards some fun and exciting goals.

If you don’t know about Cotting School in Lexington, MA, you should check them out. As the nation’s first school for children with disabilities, it has an impressive 124-year history of supporting the values of teamwork. Their mission is to provide students with opportunities to learn, gain independence, discover strengths, and build meaningful relationships. We’ve had the pleasure of sharing their campus, but – in this series – really got to foster relationships with students we’ve been seeing around campus. We were honored to facilitate some teamwork initiatives for them. Check out our series below:

Click to watch us playing Team Tag!

Through the first couple of weeks, the group began to established trust in one another. Through challenging activities like Bull Ring and Empty the Brain, members of the group had to rely on each other to be successful. While there were many obstacles that the group encountered, they continued to support each other and build friendships.

By the end of 8 weeks, students came together as one cohesive unit. Tested by countless team-building activities and problem-solvers, each student was able to share with the group what the word “team” meant to them and how this program gave them an new opportunity to have fun with their classmates.

We’re thankful we get to partner with Cotting School!

Adventure Learning in Somerville

October 3, 2017/in Rock Climbing, Ropes Course, Schools, Series, Uncategorized

Last week we kicked off another year of adventure learning with students from many schools within the Somerville Public School system. We love this partnership because it allows us to showcase the power of adventure to the diverse Somerville student population

As we design each of these programs, we work hard to take a very classroom centered approach. What I mean is that we don’t want to just throw them a canned program that highlights concepts they may not be interested in learning or that don’t fit the student’s current goals. Prior to each program, we spend time talking with each teacher to hear more about their students, the work they’re doing in the classroom and the social and emotional goals they’re trying to achieve throughout the year. We take that information and craft lessons and experiences that augment the work they’re doing in the classroom, in hopes of providing fodder for further conversation, growth and development.

The first two programs that we ran with these schools (highlighted in the photos below) focused on the overarching themes of “challenge” and “support” — when we are supported we’re more able to challenge ourselves, when we challenge ourselves we learn and grow. During these programs we took those themes of challenge and support and dove deeper into more individualized topics like positive self talk, kindness, learning from mistakes, positive risk taking and knowing that it’s okay to fail. Our hope is that these experiences will act as markers for the students when these same themes are brought up back in school and home.

Enjoy the pictures below and keep checking back throughout the year as we continue programming with Somerville. Happy fall!!

Amazing year with Cotting School!

June 21, 2017/in Uncategorized

Today marks the 1 year anniversary of our partnership with Cotting School in Lexington MA. It has been nothing short of an honor to have our office located on the campus of this school since June 21st of last year.

For those of you who don’t know, Cotting School has a 124 year history of providing world class education to kids, youth and young adults with disabilities. Cotting’s mission of enabling students with special needs to reach their highest learning potential and level of independence is right in line with Waypoint’s mission and objectives. We couldn’t imagine a better fit!

As part of our collaboration, Waypoint is providing work opportunities for three groups of students each week throughout the school year. It’s been hugely helpful to us and provides the students “on campus” vocational opportunities to help them prepare for future “off campus” employment.

To celebrate the one year mark of our partnership and the start of the summer, we took these three groups of students on a hike at the Blue Hills Reservation. It was a day filled with fun, challenge and discovery that will deepen our relationships and strengthen our bond.

On to the next year…!

Next Wave Full Circle: The Series

May 31, 2017/in Hiking, Rock Climbing, Ropes Course, Schools, Series, Snowshoeing, Uncategorized

Throughout this school year, we have had the opportunity to work with Somerville’s Next Wave Junior High School and Full Circle High School. Next Wave / Full Circle teaches students who have difficulty learning in traditional educational settings. They boast of an environment safe for every member of the community and a place where everyone is treated with respect.

David Aronofsky, teacher at NWFC, got a taste of Waypoint programming last year and sought his own funding to make it happen for his students again this year. He champions the belief that adventure education has a “positive impact on building self-esteem and confidence in [his] students.” We whole-heartedly agree!

This year, the theme was community and we built a strong one throughout time at school working through team initiatives and five adventures off campus (indoor and outdoor rock climbing, snowshoeing, hiking, and the ropes course). Students quickly caught on that working through challenges equips you for life! Each teen took their role within the community seriously; They were supportive of one-another’s progress and courage. It’s in knowing that our community is encouraging that we’re more willing to try something new.

Check out this series:

Teambuilding program: Students had to (1) get two different weighted balls into the bucket across the gym without letting either one hit the ground and without anyone touching the ball; and (2) lower a hula hoop with keeping only a flat finger underneath to support the weight. Both simulated challenges introduced the idea of working together with a common goal and purpose.

Indoor Rock Climbing: At Central Rock Climbing Gym in Watertown, students were encouraged to take the challenge and try something new. One student’s experience was so impactful, she wrote about it in the Full Circle Newsletter.

“It was a good experience because not only did people have fun, but we got together and really got to show support and be a group. I got to meet some of the the kids I wasn’t that close to in school!”

Snowshoeing: In February, we were able to explore snowy trails and work together to follow our map through the Middlesex Fells. Many students were experiencing snowshoeing for the first time! To cap it all off, we enjoyed hot chocolate with the views of the hills on one side and Boston on the other.

Outdoor Rock Climbing: In April, we spent the day in the woods using the team-belay to keep each other safe. We talked a bit more about how we can rely on each other and why supporting each other is so important.

Hike: On a hot and gorgeous day in the Blue Hills, we went up to Hancock Hill and enjoyed some amazing views of Boston, the Atlantic, and felt a little like we’d made our way to New Hampshire. Everyone in the group had a great perspective on why it’s important to look out for one another. Countless times on the hike, a hand was extended, the bug spray shared, or some encouraging words were given to get up and over a hard spot. It was an awesome day!

The Ropes Course: Our final adventure! We wrapped up our series in Waltham at Cedar Hill Day Camp. (Thank you gracious hosts from Girl Scouts of Eastern MA!). What turned out to be another gorgeous day filled with teamwork, laughter and memories was a great way to end the series. Students walked away with ideas as to why are we valuable to the many communities we are part of, and how what we do everyday impacts the community and each individual member.

Thanks for a great series Next Wave/Full Circle School! You have an awesome community to begin with. We were glad we got to help build it even more!

P.S. David A, teacher, emailed us soon after this post was published with the following letter. Check out the progress of a student who made huge strides in confidence because of the relationships built and challenges overcome. Way to go Jess!

Leaders-In-Training is in Full Swing

May 25, 2017/in Open Enrollment, Ropes Course, Series

We started! This Saturday was the first adventure of a year-long series with our LIT program and we were swinging indeed. At Hale Reservation (in perfect spring sun) we spent the morning laying the foundation for our series and building the team; and then dedicated the afternoon to the Giant Swing – where each individual LIT had the opportunity to take on a big challenge.

It’s a theme on most adventures, but the relationship between challenge and learning rings especially true within a series like this where the goal is right in the name – we are training (or LEARNING) to become leaders. Here at Waypoint, we believe that when we step into the challenge zone, we learn. The Challenge Zone and the “Learning Zone” are one in the same. Over this year, these Leaders-In-Training will be encouraged to step out their comfort zone, take positive risks, be given the freedom to fail, learn from mistakes, push through things that are hard, and step up to challenges – all while doing so alongside peers that support them.

The Giant Swing brings it all together. Each LIT steps up one at a time to get hooked into the Giant Swing harness while the rest of the group holds the haul rope. When the swinger is ready, he or she tells the group when to start and when to stop. And with a deep breath and a mustering of courage, he or she pulls the cord and disconnects from the haul rope sending them swinging through the air.

Henry Moses, former Freshman Dean at Harvard University and Founder of the First Year Outdoor Program summarizes it well:

“Learning is hard; learning is messy; learning happens when you’re uncomfortable and would rather be doing almost anything else. But we do learn and we learn most effectively when we face challenges with other people who support us and whom we learn to support. And that’s when learning becomes joyous.” – Henry Moses

Learning became joyous this past weekend. You could see it on the faces of everyone mid-swing and the feeling of being accepted and loved by their group. We are thrilled to work with this fun, supportive, and adventurous group over the course of this year and we hope you’ll follow along too! Check out our vidoe of the day posted on youtube.com and if you haven’t already, start following us on Snapchat at @WaypointAdv (We’re also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram :).

Somerville’s Adventure Community

December 2, 2016/in Hiking, Rock Climbing, Series

Waypoint’s partnership with the Somerville Public Schools is going strong. We are thankful for the opportunity to have started our second year with these students and teachers!

It’s been a busy few weeks and here are some of our favorite autumn highlights with a few of these classes:

(1) We headed indoors to go rock climbing at Central Rock Gym in Watertown after a rainy morning changed our plans to go to the Middlesex Fells. The students’ excitement for adventure and of trying something outside of their comfort zones radiated throughout the morning. “Adventure” was our motto and this was a glimpse into the perspectives of these students and staff.

This class especially demonstrated the impact of supporting their community. Each student chose a wall that would really challenge them and saw their accomplishments in a big way. As each one climbed, the others rallied around them. Some were cheering, encouraging and pointing out the routes, others were giving high fives and making sure everyone was proud of what they’d done after finishing. It was hard not to join in on the encouragement.

(2) With another class we headed out to the Middlesex Fells Reservation for a day of outdoor rock climbing. It was a gorgeous day to get outside and they could not have been more excited or more willing to challenge themselves and recognize their personal potential and the potential in others. We set goals together and stepped up to accomplish them. We even had the opportunity to celebrate the day with a short hike to the top of the rocks for a view of downtown Boston.

One teacher commented about the impact he has seen in his class – “If a child can set a goal and challenge himself then he can practice this throughout his life. Starting early and recognizing one’s accomplishments is a key to success, and Waypoint Adventure gave my students this wonderful opportunity to show themselves and each other what they were capable of.”

(3) With yet another class, we headed up the road to North Andover Youth Service’s Ropes Course. The misty morning turned into a gorgeous day to cross a “raging rip current” with the Nitro Swing.The students all jumped right in to the scenarios and created ideas for how to succeed together. The goal was to get everyone safely across the “current” and onto the “island”. After crossing safely to the “island” everyone enjoyed a run down the Zip Line.

Emphasizing community and how challenges can bring us together, this class stepped up to find new ways to see and support each other. Not only did they work together on the Nitro Swing but they found success in each other on the Zip Line. Their friends and peers were present each step of the way.

(4) The Middlesex Fells Reservation provides access to more than just outdoor rock climbing. The reservation is filled with trails winding through the beautiful New England forests with great views of downtown Boston. Another class joined Waypoint for a day of hiking these gorgeous trails. We explored a few small rock caves and enjoyed a scavenger hunt focused on “what lives in the woodlands”. Discovering more about each other and more about the natural world captivated the students.

We enjoyed lunch at the base of Wright’s Tower over looking downtown Boston and the surrounding communities. Wright’s Tower gives any hiker a great view of the beautiful coastline of Massachusetts. The kids loved it!

One of their teachers said – “Experiencing nature outside of the classroom helps my students understand the bigger picture of where they live. Today, they’ve been able to do that”

With all four classes, we’re thankful for opportunities to talk about community and the impacts of challenging yourself with the support of that community. It is only through challenge that we learn more about ourselves, each other, and our natural world.

Waypoint’s looking forward to our winter adventures with the Somerville Public Schools. Come back soon to read more about those adventures!