Students were seated, and as they looked over the menu, they were surprised to find that the menu had a variety of options to choose from besides wings. We had students order chicken, hamburgers, and even shrimp! After they ordered, the class practiced their patience skills due to the length of time the food took to come out; so, students socialized with one another and laughed at stories being told. Once the food arrived, students quickly devoured their delicious meals and finished off by ordering either a cheesecake or chocolate cake.

Once students finished, they quickly paid for their lunch using their debit cards and headed back to Cypress Bay. Even though the restaurant took longer than expected, it was a blessing in disguise allowing students to really engage and practice a variety of skills. Stay tuned for the next CBI!

First, the class was taken to the weight room to explore the strength training machines and learned how each machine targets a specific muscle group. One of the students, Sam, had the chance to try out the dip machine and feel his triceps start to contract!

Once they were finished touring the equipment and weights, the students then headed outside towards the pool. The aquatic instructor showed the students the different pools they had available for members to use. A few of them had questions about the pool use. For example, Stephanie asked if she would have to pay extra to use the pool or if it was included in the membership fee. Eric asked if the different pools were open to all families. William asked what part of the pool was the deepest so he could avoid that area.

After the tour was over and the questions the students had were answered, they all enjoyed a wonderful lunch outside by the pool. Students enjoyed conversation with one another wondering what everyone was planning to do for spring break. This CBI was a success since it allowed the students the opportunity to practice their development, independence and social skills.

As the bus rolled in and the students walked out, the class was greeted by some of the firefighters who gave them a tour of the station. The tour began in the kitchen where students quickly started to ask many great questions which included: “How much money do firefighters make a year? What happens when firefighters are sleeping, and the alarm goes off? How do firefighters know what type of emergency it is?” and more. The firefighters were impressed with the many questions being asked and took the time to answer every single question.

After touring the inside of the station, students made their way outside towards the fire trucks. They were educated about the process firefighters take to prepare for an emergency, the different tools that are used to help people in a fire, and the variety of horns trucks had and the meaning of each sound. One of the tools that the students were able to experience was the heat sensor. This tool demonstrated how intense real smoke can be in a fire and how hard it is to see past it. Students’ jaws dropped at how amazing and cool it worked to save lives. Then came the loud noises… Students listened to the horns used to warn cars to move over and heard the alarm that goes off warning firefighters when there is an emergency. Lastly, the best part of the day for the students was the end where they had the opportunity to use the hose and spray water. The smiles on their faces were PRICELESS!

Once the tour was over, the firefighters invited the students to eat lunch with them where they enjoyed their delicious meals over great conversations. This CBI focused on the class’ resources and socialization skills and had to be one of the students’ favorite CBI trips. Stay tuned for the next CBI!