Spring / Fall / Winter Special Courses

Prefect Leadership/ Student Council team-building

Outward Bound has paired with many esteemed academic institutions such as Branksome Hall, Trinity College and Rosseau Lake College to provide their student leadership teams with focus and tone-setting for the year or the semester. We have worked with both Prefect groups and Student Council teams, usually at the beginning of the year to set them up for success and help them work through the character of their unique group. Through workshops, initiatives, activities and shared experiences, students work on leadership, problem solving, conflict resolution and communication as a team to propel them into a place of confidence and efficacy. In addition to developing an incredibly important skill-set, students on these courses often also experience a greater degree of self-awareness and have a great time while doing so!

These courses will take place in our base camp facilities in a workshop/ classroom setting, using the beautiful natural setting of Chetwynd as a complimentary learning space.

Optional elements and workshops:

• Communication
• Team work
• Problem-solving
• How to hold a meeting
• Leadership styles and strategies; how to work with other leadership styles
• Activity design and management
• Initiatives; rock climbing; ropes course elements
• Free time for working on their own agendas for the year/ semester
• Sports- basketball; Ultimate Frisbee; football; swimming (seasonal), etc.

Kurt Hahn, the founder of Outward Bound, was responsible for the creation of many ambitious educational institutions, one of which was the Duke of Edinburgh program. “The Duke of Edinburgh's Award is a voluntary, non-competitive and flexible programme of cultural and adventurous activities for all young people, whatever their background or ability.” The website puts the experience of the program to words, and Outward Bound is proud to have the ability to provide students with their qualifying Bronze and Silver expeditions. Many of the schools we work with have mandatory Duke of Edinburgh requirements for their students and our instructors are trained on how to develop and deliver curriculum that fulfills the expectations of this prestigious award.

The purposes of wilderness solos can be as varied as the number of people who commit to them; they are most often engaged in, however, for the purposes of reflection, contemplation, a change of pace and appreciation of the natural world in all its silent wonders. On solos, students will be given a small amount of food, a safe space away from the base-camp site but still within communication range, and a journal, and left to spend time on their own. Outward Bound instructors have been creating and managing solo experiences since the beginning of the school, and tailor them to fit the needs of the participants; as such, for school programs a solo will last anywhere from an hour to two. This experience can be discussed and set up in preliminary discussions with each school.

Schools are opting more frequently for what we call our “Multi-phase Program”, wherein a progression is built and followed through over three or more years of the students’ high school experience. Each year is a phase of an overall plan that works towards greater independence, leadership and group performance. For example, one school we work with has a Grade 9 canoeing trip, a Grade 10 Dog sled expedition, and a Grade 11 hiking course. Each element is a skill on its own, but also is used as a building block for the next challenge. This creates in students a real sense of ownership over their Outward Bound successes, and assists in the creation of school culture through shared experiences.