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Outdoor Adventure Program | |||||||
Gateway’s Outdoor Adventure Program is designed to reconnect and maintain a student with the positive gains from his previous wilderness experience, and introduce new skills in outdoor pursuits that lead to a lifetime of healthy interaction with themselves, their families, their peers, and their community.
Gateway Academy emphasizes an integrated recreational and wilderness approach within our residential treatment programming. Gateway Academy’s Outdoor Adventure Program is built to challenge students intellectually, physically, and emotionally. Utilizing the beautiful outdoor surroundings of Utah, we help students gain increased self confidence through experiential intervention, positive relationships with peers and adult leaders, and development of new skills to interact positively with the community and the natural world. |
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| Building self esteem and strengthening social competencies . . . | ||||||||
| While some students are comfortable with the daily weekday schedule, they may struggle on the weekend because it is less structured and requires more physical and social risk taking. On the other hand, others excel during the weekend, but struggle to maintain when asked to be focused and follow a schedule. We believe that our students benefit tremendously from engaging in these contrasting experiences. Youth need constructive, enriching opportunities for growth through creative activities. Thus, not only do our youth build self esteem and strengthen social competencies, but they develop interests and skills for constructive use of their time. | ||||||||
| . . . constructive, enriching opportunities for growth . . . | ||||||||
 During
the weekdays, along with the daily structure of school and therapeutic
focus groups, students participate in recreational activities that
happen both on and off campus. These activities include: running,
basketball and other team sports, other games and experiential initiatives,
daily exercise at fitness centers, and many other athletic activities.
In addition, the Outdoor Adventure Program encourages the students
to experience their natural world by participating in adventure-based
activities on the weekends and during extended overnight trips. |
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| . . . progressive, skilled-based interventions. | ||||||||
| Our Outdoor Adventure Program supports a module system where students gain skills in a season-specific outdoor pursuit by concentrating on specific skill based activities over a five to six week period. Students are taught a progression of skills throughout the module and are expected to demonstrate competency in a particular area at the end of the lesson set. Overnight excursions are designed to provide the students with the opportunity to demonstrate and advance their skills while practicing positive peer interaction and leadership development. Students learn to cope with and overcome challenges, communicate positively, create lasting interpersonal relationships, and use good judgment in decision making. | ||||||||
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| Gateway Skill-Building Models Include: | ||||||||
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rock climbing rappelling canoeing whitewater rafting skiing snowboarding snowshoeing cross country skiing canyoneering and other outdoor activities. |
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| Growth through service and cultural opportunities. | ||||||||
Students
also gain empathy and an increased connection for their communities
by participation in monthly service activities and learning projects
such as Habitat for Humanity, feeding the homeless, Sub for Santa,
community gardening, and local and National park clean up projects.
Gateway Academy youth also enjoy participation in local cultural
and educational experiences. Off-site visits include museums, historical
sites, National and State Parks, concerts, plays, festivals, sporting
events and other experiential community exercises. |
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