Unity the goal of workshop

Dean Morrison Photo

Students in Shannon Dunn's leadership class at Merritt Secondary School prepare for a workshop on Feb. 23 - 26.

What would high school be without the cliques?

According to students in Shannon Dunn’s leadership class at Merrit Secondary School, it would be a happier place to learn and teach.

This is the premise for a workshop planned in February called Breaking Down the Walls.

“I think learning how to treat each other is one of the most important things kids can learn in school, says Dunn.

The workshop is a student-centered program that emphasizes unity among classmates in order to create a positive school climate.

Keeping kids in school until their graduation is the goal behind the workshop.

“The number one reason kids drop out is that they do not feel safe, noticed or wanted by the school community,” says Dunn.

“We want to counter that and give all of our kids the best possible school experience we can.”

Dunn noticed that a lot of her students didn’t really know each other and that made her “sad.”

“There really are no underlying social issues that prompted the workshop. We just wanted to be pro-active.”

For students in Dunn’s leadership class, they have seen the possibilities of a truly unified school and want to make that unity a reality for every student, every day.

“We just had a battle of the grades and it was so much fun,” says student Katarina Desimone.

“If everybody participated in this workshop, maybe our school could be like that every day.”

Phil Boyte, the founder and keynote speaker of Breaking Down the Walls, started talking to audiences in 1983, delivering his message throughout Canada and the United States.

Boyte’s primary message is that every student is an integral part of their community and each is vital to the success of the entire school.

“A lot of kids in high school feel like they are all alone, once we start to share our common experiences that feeling of isolation goes away,” says Boyte.

Boyte will be in Merritt delivering his workshop from Feb. 23 to Feb. 26.

For those students not attending the workshop regular classes will be scheduled.

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