Testimonials
"I can not express enough how beneficial bringing my high school robotics students to the West Pines low ropes course for team development. I have about 30 students who (up to the start of the school year) had spent the last 18 months in remote learning. These are students who need to work together on complex problem solving robotics builds in class in order to be successful, but who had never worked together and in some instances never met each other before. The counselors at West Pines were able to engage my students with a series of physical challenges while working to develop a shared mental mindset within the team so everyone was able to work together towards a common goal. At the beginning of the day the warm-up activities got the students laughing, listening, and excited for what would come next. In our groups we overcame physical obstacles while breaking down our mental barriers and at the end of the day the entire team was working together to complete a very complex task. The staff at West Pines was easy to work with for scheduling, they were able to engage a diverse group of high school students and keep them attentive and excited for the day's activities. I will absolutely be reaching out to the folks at West Pines in the future for class excursions and team building activities."
-Matt Santambrogio, Robotics, Thomas Jefferson High School
"In 2010, our nursing units got the privilege of moving into new units. While this was very exciting for us, we were also concerned that this move could decrease teamwork and communication between our units. We requested a team building experience to further build our relationship between our charge nurses, to minimize any potential negative impact these changes may have. I believe this day was worthwhile and an effective team-building time for our team. As they worked together on challenging events, they learned more about one another and experienced the importance of clear communication and listening to understand what the other person was saying. We appreciated the support of the West Pines team to help us navigate the changes ahead and to remind us of the tools that help each one of us to be a more effective team member.”
-Marcia Teague RNC, MS Clinical Manager Mom/Baby/GYN Lutheran Medical Center
"Thank you so much for your support of the Thornton Girls Tennis Team and your generosity in helping us to have a wonderful team experience at the West Pines Training Center Ropes Course. Below are some quotations from the girls about what the experience meant to them. “The ropes course helped me and my partner because we were really down on each other because we were not having fun on the tennis court. We learned how to have fun by bonding and we learned how to trust each other. If we fell over, we knew our teammates were going to catch us. Usually we learn to take risks as individuals. Through the ropes course, we learned how to take risks as a team.We are more of a cohesive unit.”
-Meredith Pettersch Varsity Tennis Coach/Math Teacher Thornton High School
"Thank you for helping me and my classmates to create a stronger family between us…I now know that I can trust them more than I ever thought. This experience will help our class in many ways.”
K. M. Discovery Program Student Vantage Point High School