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Miryam Ghermezian Academy
Camp Extreme for Boys
Camp Extreme for Girls
Helpline
Holiday Retreats
Life Mentor and Follow Up Division
Nights on the Town
Weekend Retreats
MIRYAM GHERMEZIAN ACADEMY:
The First, Therapeutic, Residential High School for Jewish Girls, Miryam Ghermezian Academy, caters to young women who are failing to thrive in their current educational and social environments and/or have embraced self-destructive life choices and who can no longer thrive in a mainstream public or private school. MGA is committed to creating a warm, nurturing environment removed from the pressures of everyday life to hasten students’ academic, social and personal growth and maturation.
MGA, located in rural Bricelyn, Minnesota, is 90 minutes south of Minneapolis. Students enjoy our 44,000 square foot facility with 14 classrooms and adjacent cottage residences, located on six acres.
This school is a natural extension of Project Extreme’s successful shorter duration programs and provides a program option for young women who have become disruptive and destructive to themselves and their families.
MGA offers educational and therapeutic programming tailored to each student’s learning style and interests through standard and elective academic courses, experiential learning activities and diverse recreational opportunities. Through the provision of a warm caring environment; removed from the pressure of everyday life, the student begins the healing process- academically, socially and personally. MGA’s thoughtful programming and rural campus offer outstanding opportunities for academic, behavioral and personal growth. As part of the admissions process to MGA, candidates proceed through extensive evaluation procedures.
MGA embraces a “learning by doing” philosophy. Students take an active role in daily life, including student government, facility management, meal and activity planning, as behavioral models of responsibility, healthy work ethic, caring for the group and selflessness. MGA also employs a strong service-learning component through internships at local businesses, hospitals, and schools. MGA students leads and/or participates in community projects.
MGA is a fully accredited four year academic high school; offering standard required (mandated) courses and electives. A Judaic Culture Program is simultaneously be offered. We have an entire cadre of volunteers from throughout the Midwest who support and enhance our programming. Special programming is available for weekends. Field trips to local communities; visits to museums, cultural facilities and outdoor experiences are planned by students and staff. Volunteers from local Minnesota organizations join the young women for special weekends events on campus.
Our students are introduced to the world of work. Through lectures by visiting officials, field trips and internships, they experience the reality of the environment they will face when they graduate from MGA. Counselors assist in guiding the students toward the career possibilities as they plan for the future. The social work staff is responsible for executing a community based discharge plan for each student.
CAMP EXTREME FOR BOYS:
This four-week outdoor summer adventure program for teenage boys travels the west coast, including the San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, Reno and Sacramento areas. The program includes a multitude of invigorating activities such as hiking, white water rafting, biking and horseback riding.
CAMP EXTREME FOR GIRLS:
This three-week outdoor summer adventure program for teenage girls travels to the majestic Canadian Rockies including the Banff, Jasper and Lake Louise areas. This program includes stimulating activities such as glacier climbing, rappeling, biking, hiking and camping.
Focus: The focus of CAMP EXTREME FOR BOYS and CAMP EXTREME FOR GIRLS is to help at-risk teens overcome destructive patterns, gain self-confidence and master survival skills by completing a rigorous wilderness program that includes rock climbing, rope courses, white water rafting, building fires, group discussions, and other challenging activities.
It is generally accepted that outdoor adventure programs are effective methods for helping youth realize their potential and turn their lives around. The wilderness setting removes them from negative influences and provides them with an atmosphere that is free from distraction. In such a setting, young men and women are free to explore their leadership and survival skills and discover themselves in a whole new way.
Structure: To ensure a comfortable, intimate atmosphere and high staff to participant ratio, a maximum of 18 boys and 12 girls are registered in each program. Since the issues young men and women grapple with can differ or involve the opposite sex, we have achieved the best success when the two groups are separated. Not only does this division enable the young women and men to express themselves more freely during group discussions, but the separation also fosters the development of positive peer relationships without the risk of sexual pressure.
Program Elements: "All the kids are stimuli junkies, so we try to stimulate and challenge them without having them do anything illegal." -- Howard Winter, PROJECT EXTREME Drug Counselor
The rigors of outdoor living are integral to our program. Comparable to the thrill of reaching the pinnacle of a mountain, at the end of a trip our teens experience the exhilaration that comes with hard-won effort.
Counseling and Discussion Groups: After a busy, activity filled day, discussion sessions and learning groups are held to share lessons learned and what has transpired in the immediate past.
These informal sessions help to facilitate open communication and conversation among the participants and counselors and create an interest in issues and topics that are instrumental to redirect the paths of the participants. Session materials range from formal textbooks to informal materials that are picked up and discussed along the way.
Session Topics
- Anger management
- Coping with failure
- Creating opportunities
- Community issues
- Parent child communication
Staff
All PROJECT EXTREME staff have outstanding credentials and are rigorously screened. They come from the fields of social work and psychology and are qualified to lead formal and informal sessions. In addition, the high staff-to-participant ratio ensures a level of attention and safety, which allows each child to succeed both as an individual and as a member of a working team. Each program includes a licensed mental health professional.
PROJECT EXTREME provides an ongoing intensive training schedule for its staff. Several times during the year and additionally for one full week before each trip, counselors are required to attend in-depth seminars in how to respond to and detect the myriad of issues that can arise during the experience.
Training includes but is not limited to the following topics
- Identification of behavioral or personal issues
- Depression
- Alienation
- Anger
- Family issues
- Trip Plans and Schedule
- Appropriate discussion topics
- Relating in a non-judgmental, supportive way to teens
- Project rules and regulations
- Record keeping and assessment of the Projecting experience
- Safety and security
A professional adventure guide is hired to lead the participants and staff in the extreme sports activities. Extreme sports are not only meant to entertain, but to build character. They carry an element of risk and are difficult and rigorous. The demands of the situation allow the guide(s) to impart skills and traits that help the participants gain control over it.
Ground Rules
The basic PROJECT EXTREME rules are no drugs, alcohol, or promiscuity. For
safety reasons, a staff member must always accompany participants.
Violent behavior is not tolerated and general good manners must
be extended to participants, counselors and to everyone that we
come into contact with.
Active participation in all PROJECT EXTREME activities both sports and counseling, is purely voluntary. PROJECT EXTREME does not force/coerce any type of activity, participation, or religious observance. Although participants do not need to participate, attendance at events or activities is mandatory. Incentives are offered to encourage active participation.
Medical Care
Prior to each trip, all hospitals and clinics along the route are identified and a list is disseminated to the staff. Doctors and nurses in the communities we are visiting or passing through are contacted and a network has been established to provide healthcare 24 hours a day if necessary.
PROJECT EXTREME has a registered nurse and/or CPR/first-aid trained staff member on site at all times. Currently the majority of counselors have basic life saving skills, and in the near future, this training will be mandatory for all counselors.
Follow-Up And Support
PROJECT EXTREME doesn't end with the conclusion of a particular expedition - follow-up is a major part of the service that we offer. We evaluate the overall life situation of our students and make suggestions as to the appropriate course of action.
HELPLINE:
The primary objective of Project Extreme's Helpline is to connect the right people with the right resources. From confused parents to troubled teenagers, the professionals manning the Helpline offer callers practical advise, valuable resources and everlasting hope. The information is priceless- and the cost is only one phone call.
HOLIDAY RETREATS:
To help diffuse the stress often associated with holidays, Project Extreme offers inspiring retreats for certain Jewish holdidays. These joyous occasions present an opportunity for teens to relax in a pressure-free environment infused with the holiday elements that resonate with each participant.
LIFE MENTOR AND FOLLOW UP DIVISION:
By pairing teen participants with experienced mentors, Project Extreme ensures that the progress made by at-risk youth during our other programs will not fade or diminish. Mentors sign a social contract stating that they are responsible to maintain contact with participants on a weekly basis and continue leading them along the path to success.
NIGHTS ON THE TOWN:
The Nights on the Town program organizes safe, fun-filled experiences for teens such as karaoke and jewelry making, while utilizing the activities to strengthen character-building and decision-making skills. While no active counseling takes place on these occasions, teens receive the same support and guidance provided in other Project Extreme programs.
WEEKEND RETREATS:
Project Extreme's Weekend Retreats, held in upstate New York, offers teens recreational resources such as skiing and snowboarding, along with behavioral skills to negotiate day-to-day challenges. The occasion is also used as an opportunity to review the progress made by participating teenagers and provide them with sustained guidance.
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