The Brunswick Trust

Character & Leadership continued from page 2

“They created this renowned survey to bring their work to the world,” she said.

The survey provides an “inventory of strengths” for use in the practice of wellness — eighth graders completed it in January and are using its findings to see how character strengths impact academics and especially projects like the Capstone, which will see them tasked with working together in groups of three and four this spring.

“In a nutshell, we are using the VIA character survey as a tool to enhance our existing Character Continuum,” Duennebier said.

Twenty-one juniors made the trek up to the Vermont Campus in Randolph, Vt., in mid-January to train for the leadership roles they will shoulder during their senior year.

The students are preparing to help lead small groups of sophomores to Vermont for the seminal experience that sees boys unplugged, outside, and working together.

“It bears repeating,” said Danny Dychkowski. “This group, unlike every other trip to Vermont, is an elected trip. These boys have made the choice and commitment to return, both as juniors and seniors. They know the campus, they know the expectations, and they come in fully vested in the program. How does this look during the trip? Circle talks are more intense, volunteers are everywhere, and things get done without a teacher having to ask.”

Boys stayed in the newly constructed cabins in groups of four and five — they were responsible for their own heat by utilizing Vermont Castings wood stoves, which are made in Randolph.

“The cabins are well insulated and the stoves are super efficient — one group got their cabin up to 94 degrees!” said Dychkowski. “After some trial and error, and some more error, the boys learned how to regulate the output of the stoves

(and to coordinate with a slightly opened window) to maintain their cabins at a reasonable temperature. We try to drive home the message that it is okay to fail, but you need to try again. The stoves embodied that message — a low-stakes life lesson on persistence.”

It has been an unusually warm winter, so instead of crosscountry skiing and fat-tire biking on campus, boys trekked to the Rikert Nordic Center at Bread Loaf, where they make

Ice climbing, a marquee experience for the juniors, was not possible this year because of the warm temperatures, so a shelter and fire-building competition in the woods was substituted.

“These changes in the program really align with our goals of adaptability, decision-making, and risk management,”