November, 1996
Feature
Alexia Clarke:
Bauby Leads Students in a Wilderness Challenge
By Samuel Itty
Students from Central's Academy Program attended the Great Hollow Wilderness School in New Fairfield. The program, run by Wesleyan University, is a truly outward bound experience.
Eleven students spent the entire weekend engaged in a variety of problem solving and cooperative learning exercises. One activity involved visiting Tory's Cave in New Milford, a five chamber limestone and marble cave that has been in use since early Colonial times. The name, Tory's Cave, is taken from loyal Britons who hid loyalists and weapons during the Revolutionary War.
"Students are presented with a series of problems that require teamwork in order to successfully complete them," explained Mr. John Bauby, who supervised the weekend.
There are many different types of problems to be tackled. One is a 15 foot high, smooth wall that team members must get over. Another activity involves a giant spider web, made from ropes. The team must get through it, without touching the ropes. Participants must find also find a way to make it to the top of a 55 feet high, giant ladder, with rungs five feet apart. Students also used a pulley attached to the cable to zip across a valley and over a river.
"The purpose of the whole trip is to get the students into the mode of working together and realizing that team work is a successful strategy, that works, not only in a wilderness setting, but in school and life in general," said Bauby. "Students come away with a tremendous sense of accomplishment," he added.
Participants included Fabian Balavarze, John Barros, Cleveland Billups, Latricia Brown, Tavaris Cooper, Jarius Edmonds, Dave Green, Nikia Pierre-Louis, Sean Nichols, Alex Rodriguez, Tom Sowell. Mr. James MacMath and Bauby coordinated the program.
