By: Robert Scheiderman /Paraprofessional   

The classroom moved to the climbing wall on two occasions for Ocean Academy, as students were broken into groups and each given a day out of the OA classroom to experience a classroom of a different sort…a challenging vertical assessment of their team-work abilities, their coping skills and thought processes. Students were brought to Gravity Vault, a rock climbing facility located in Middletown, NJ that offers a physically and mentally challenging series of vertical and horizontal climbs that put decision making and forward thinking to task. Gravity Vault instructors geared students up in safety apparatus, gave an introduction to correct rock climbing technique and then put OA students to the task, challenging them to climb a series of walls.

Team building and decision making remained the theme of the day as Gravity Vault instructors indicated the best way to attack the obstacle at hand and offered advice toward how to build good team work among the climbers. Students climbed at separate intervals and encouraged one another as participate, and as observer; cheering each other on and offering advice from the floor. Each student climbed and several climbed each wall the facility had to offer.