School and Community Youth Groups

 

Courses for Youth

Thompson Island School and Community Youth Group programs develop leadership, communication, and teamwork skills, while building communities based upon respect. Some programs also engage students with the natural world through hands-on, environmental activities. Working in small groups (of 10-12) students are encouraged to step out of their comfort zones and take on new challenges.

All programs encourage students to engage in creative problem solving and collaboration in a new way, and courses are designed around Outward Bound’s Educational Frameworks. All of our Youth Group Programs take place on Thompson Island and in the Boston Harbor Island National Park Area.

Thompson Island offers age-appropriate programs for students and their teachers, youth workers, and mentors, including:

Peer Leadership

Our Peer Leadership courses use adventure and challenge to help students realize their potential by working together as a team. Students practice group problem solving through games, initiatives and challenge course activities. They learn to respect each other in speaking and listening, and have the opportunity to take on new challenges and new responsibility. In the process, students often transform themselves into stronger individuals, team members, students, and leaders.

Activities on an Outward Bound Group program may include:

  • Group initiatives – Team challenges where students are given a goal for an activity, they attempt to reach the goal and then debrief
  • Low and High Rope Challenge Course Activities
  • Indoor climbing – in the Gym
  • Sailing – Day sails from Thompson Island
  • Community Service Projects

Environmental Exploration

Thompson Island Environmental Programs are comprised of hands-on experiential activities that take advantage of all of the islands habitats and ecosystems. Thompson Island’s outdoor classroom includes a pristine 40-acre salt marsh, a recovering salt marsh being restored to health, as well as beaches, fields, meadows and woods. Students may use these “class sites” to study geology, cultural history, biodiversity, ecosystems, wind and weather, water salinity and density. Students understand directly how human activity impacts the environment and the importance of stewardship of our natural resources. Teambuilding activities integrated into the program enable students to more effectively collaborate in the field.

Our environmental curriculum is tied to the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks in Math and Science as well as Social Studies, ELA, and Comprehensive Health.

Environmental Programs may include:

  • Salt Marsh Exploration
  • Island Insects
  • Island Geology
  • Intertidal Exploration
  • Invasive Crab Ecology
  • Seed Adaptations & Diversity
  • Island Wind, Weather, and Tide
  • Island Water: Salinity and Density
  • Island Cultural History

Frequently Asked Questions

For Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s), click here.

Contact Information

For more information regarding School and Community Youth Group programs, please contact Carol Merz at 617-328-3900 x116 or e-mail cmerz@thompsonisland.org