GMC Class Hosts Leadership Summit for Poultney Students From the GMC Journal Week of November 2, 2009 Students in the REC2026 Program Planning & Leadership class recently led a two-day Leadership Summit for Poultney Elementary School fourth, fifth, and sixth grade elected student representatives. The summit trained students to become effective members of the school's first student council, and included workshops on topics including goal setting, brain storming, self-awareness, communication, decision making and personal responsibility. Prof. Thayer Raines (youth development & camp management) coordinated the event with Dawn Sarli, Poultney School District Challenge Teacher.
Students Volunteer for Catamount Ski Trail From the GMC Journal Week of October 26, 2009 On October 25, seven GMC students completed winter ski trail prep of a five mile stretch of the Catamount Trail from Route 4 to the Bucklin Trail as a service learning project. Prof. Thayer Raines (youth development & camp management) and Andrew Harper, trail chief of Section 12 for the Catamount Trail Association (CTA), coordinated the project. Pictured are (from L to R): Kevin McCormick, Sean Smith, Tahni Maharaj, John Sinclair, Andrew O'Neill, Samantha Connor, and Emily Ross.
Prof. Raines & Students Host Peer Mediation Talk From the GMC Journal Week of April 27, 2009 Prof. Thayer Raines (recreation & outdoor studies) spoke at the 2009 Association of Experiential Education Northeast Regional Conference (April 17-19) at Becket Chimney Corners YMCA in Massachusetts. He presented on the topic “A Wider View of Service Learning: Sharpening Human Skills Through Peer Mediation Training.” Assisting him with the presentation were four students from the REC4010 Management of Outdoor and Adventure Programs class: Brian Bevacqua, Scott Perkins, Charles Watt, and Charles Weekes.
Camp Conference Features Talk from Prof. Raines From the GMC Journal Week of April 14, 2009 Prof. Thayer Raines (recreation & outdoor studies) gave a workshop at the 87th American Camp Association New England Conference in Manchester, N.H., on March 28. The title of the presentation was "Creating Peacekeepers - Using Adventure Staff as Mediators." He shared with his audience a three-step adventure program debriefing process that may be used as a model to resolve conflicts between campers. The model will enable adventure staff to use skills they already possess to become peacekeepers within the camp community.
Raines Lectures on Avalanche Hazards From the GMC Journal Week of March 30, 2009 Prof. Thayer Raines (recreation & outdoor studies) gave an invited lecture on "Human Factors that Contribute to Avalanche Hazard" at the 4th Biannual Eastern Division National Ski Patrol Level II Avalanche Course at Whiteface Mountain, March 19-22. The research shows that in 90 percent of all avalanche accidents, the victim or someone in the victim's party triggers the slide. The Level II course is designed to prepare search and rescue personnel for leadership roles in response to avalanche accidents. GMC students Lee Robinson and Wyatt Goodrich successfully completed their Level 2 Avalanche certification at this year's course.
Students Complete Avalanche Training From the GMC Journal Week of March 2, 2009 Eleven GMC students and Prof. Thayer Raines (recreation and outdoor studies) recently visited Smuggler's Notch to complete the requirements for the Avalanche Level 1 Certification Course. Because GMC is an affiliate institution of the National Ski Patrol (NSP), students enrolled in the REC3007 Essentials of Mountain Travel course are able to obtain this certification after completion of snow pit stability analysis, transceiver search, and a simulated mock rescue scenario in avalanche terrain. Smuggler's Notch is one of only three locations in the Northeast that have avalanche conditions suitable to meet the requirements of the NSP for the conduct of certification courses. Two GMC students plan to attend the Level II certification course March 19-22 at Whiteface Mountain, N.Y. Thayer will be presenting at the Level 2 course on the topic of human factors that contribute to avalanche hazard.
American Camp Association Features GMC Program From the GMC Journal Week of February 9, 2009 Prof. Thayer Raines (recreation & outdoor studies) was interviewed for the American Camp Association New England e-newsletter "The Communicate" regarding GMC's youth development & camp management major. The e-newsletter goes to all member camp directors, retreat centers, and youth programs in New England. The article is titled "Majoring in Camp: How Colleges and Universities are Preparing Your Next Director." Click here to read the story on page seven of the newsletter.
GMC Profs Win Ski Orienteering Races From the GMC Journal Week of February 2, 2009 Prof. Thayer Raines and Candi Raines (recreation and outdoor studies) competed in the 2009 Ski-Orienteering Tour and World Masters Ski-Orienteering Championships, January 10-17. The Tour consisted of 6 races: a medium (7 km) and long course (10 km) at Postlam in Austria; a sprint (3 km) and long course at Vermigillio in Italy; and a sprint and long course at Langis in Stalden, Switzerland. The pair completed all races finding all controls. Candi placed 3rd overall for the Ski-O Tour with a 1st and 3rd place in the Italian sprint and long courses (respectively) and a 4th in the long course in Switzerland. Candi Raines is one of six members of the U.S. Ski-Orienteering Team and will be competing at the World Ski-Orienteering Championships at the Rusut Resort in Hokkaido, Japan, March 4-7.
Profs. travel to Moscow for World Ski Orienteering Championships From the GMC Journal Week of March 5, 2007
Drs. Thayer and Candice Raines stop for a photo during a tour of Red Square at St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow during their trip to the World Ski Orienteering Championships held February 23 to March 3, 2007. Candi, a GMC adjunct professor of recreation, competed in the event as a member of the U.S. Ski Orienteering Team along with skiers from 24 other countries. Thayer (professor of recreation) served as a team official.
GMC Students Work On Catamount Trail From the GMC Journal Week of Oct. 9, 2006 Students enrolled in Professor Thayer Raines' Introduction to Outdoor Services class participated in a service learning trail maintenance and clean up of all 11 miles of the Green Mountain College Section II of the Catamount Ski Trail - a 300-mile cross-country ski trail spanning Vermont from Massachusetts to Canada. It is the longest continuous ski trail in the U.S. Green Mountain College is in the process of adopting this section of the trail in perpetuity. The section lies between Killington Peak and Okemo Resort in Ludlow.
New Zealand 2006 Outdoor leadership training Professors Thayer Raines and Tom Stuessy, Wilderness Education Association-certified instructor, traveled as evaluators with a class of 13 to the New Zealand back country, to determine if the students would become internationally WEA-certified Outdoor Leaders. The group flew out of Boston and landed in Christchurch, New Zealand. After buying and sorting out their food, they set out on a 14-day, 66-mile hike through Mt. Aspiring National Park. The January 2006 hike included one summit of approximately 10,000 feet, ending at Sylvan Lake, from which they proceeded to Fox Glacier for ice climbing. Next stop was a day of whitewater kayaking on the Kluther River, north and west of Queenstown. They wrapped up the trip with a couple of free days to explore in Queenstown and Christchurch.
