Learning to check the fluids in the car.

The girls learned how to change the oil filter

Changing tires

Green “STEP sisters”

Confidence Course

Relying on teammates as they do the trust fall.

Ready to hike

Along the way some of the girls got “injured”. Their roommates all pulled together to accomplish the hike as a group.

Hiking in formation

Teamwork at work!

The Red group practicing infant CPR.

The girls learned how to create slings and splints from materials that could be found around the house. They practiced by bandaging up injured teammates.

Teamwork in Action!

The girls learned about trust as they were lead on a “stress hike” all across campus. They were presented with different “stresses” along their hike and were required to rely on their teammates for help and support.

“On our stress hike, one of the challenges we had to face was being blindfolded. Everyone, except for one person, was “blind” and had to be led around by the person who could see. It reminded me of how Jesus has to lead us though life because we are blind and need His guidance through life’s challenges.  he promises to never lead us astray. In some areas of my life I have trouble with TOTAL surrender so this activity was a good reminder that I can TOTALLY trust Him and that He knows what He is doing.”

~Jessica S.

The all survived and became stronger as a team as they learned to preserver and work together through each new challenge that was presented.

Navigation

Sighting their paths through the foliage.

Compass Reading

The girls learned how to navigate through dense woods with their compasses.
They practiced topographical map reading,  compass reading, and pace counting as they navigated their way through the woods.

Canoeing and Water Safety

The red girls practicing their canoe strokes with their partners.

Paddling down the lake

They also practiced dry exits and dry entries in and out of the canoe.

Mrs. Tanner lecturing the girls about water safety.

Practicing the reach assist.

The girls used ropes to save their “drowning” teammates.

Learning to keep warm in extreme cold temperatures (not something to worry about during the STEP )
-The RED Group

River Crossing

Learning the Ropes….

Blue did ropes an knots week one.

The girls learned how to tie anchor systems for rappelling

Learning the Ropes

Some awesome smiles!

Practicing “Tree-pelling” before going off the rappelling wall

An excited rappeller

Looking up

Coming Down

Belaying their teammates

The tower

All smiles as they are ready to rappell

The whole blue crew!

Monday morning started bright and early.  Or as we like to say here, “not so bright, but very early”
5AM the ladies hit the ground running, Everyone had spiritual exercise as they spent some time digging in God’s Word. 5:45 AM the girls were getting their physical exercise through a variety of workouts.

Before heading out to class for the day, the groups met together and watched a video message by Louie Giglio called “Indescribable” Louie showed the magnitude of how big our God by observing the universe.

The groups then headed out to their morning classes.
Red to Navigation, Blue to Ropes & Knots, and Green to Search and Rescue.

The girls enjoyed lunch then headed off to their afternoon classes.
Red to Canoeing, Blue to Communications, and Green to CPR and First Aid.

Here are a few highlights from their classes

Green practicing compass reading in Search and Rescue                                                                 Green Lining up to do a search

Practicing CPR

Red practicing paddle strokes

Canoeing!

STEP Sisters

Blue practicing ropes & knots

Communication Class
After the afternoon classes the girls enjoyed dinner some group activities, an evening session, and group meetings before lights out.

It was a great start to the first week!

]]> http://www.alertacademy.com/step/2011/06/07/448/feed/ 0 http://www.alertacademy.com/step/2011/06/02/426/ http://www.alertacademy.com/step/2011/06/02/426/#comments Thu, 02 Jun 2011 05:17:16 +0000 abergeron http://www.alertacademy.com/step/?p=426 STEP 2011 started with a bang Saturday evening with 55 girls from all over the US, Canada, and even Singapore!

As the ladies arrived throughout the day they unpacked and settled in to their dorm rooms. The usual hum of young men on campus has been taken over by girl chatter and excitement. Saturday afternoon was spent getting to know their roommates, teammates, and leaders.

Dinner Saturday evening was followed by an evening meeting where the students were introduced to each of the STEP staff and the directors of the ALERT Academy, Col. and Mrs. Tanner.  The ladies were encouraged through the welcoming message delivered  by Col. and Mrs. Tanner, the directors of the ALERT Academy. The students and staff enjoyed some getting to know you games, group meeting, and ice cream.

Delighting in the Lord

Sunday was a relaxing day. Col. Tanner brought a message from Philippians chapter 1.  A time of singing was enjoyed after the service.  We shared brunch together before heading back to the dorms for some quite time reading, memorizing verses, journaling, and resting. The girls each shared their name, where they were from and something they were looking forward to during STEP.  We then watched a STEP teaser video and shared a brief overview of what the next 4 weeks would look like. The day ended with group meetings and prayer time. Then they were early to bed so they could be early to rise the next morning.

Now we can start planning, preparing, and looking forward to the next STEP in 2011.