It is the goal of the New Lebanon CSD to help educate the whole child, including character education. As an initiative brought about by the Jr/Sr High School Counseling Office, the school held a seminar entitled “Power of Peace” on March 4 and 5, for the entirety of both school days. More than two dozen students were chosen at random to participate in this program sponsored by Youth Voices Center, Inc.
In the past, this opportunity has only been available to a select few but Principal Matthew Klafehn would like to see that change.
“The goal is to expose a different group of students next year with the hope of every student participating in a Character Education workshop during their high school tenure,” he said.
The students that participated in the seminar are as follows:
9th graders
Brianne Cassella, Felicia Batchelder, Emerald May, Tyler Therrien, Megan O’Brien
Brandon Shufelt, Tim Lambert, Abby Harty
10th graders
Katie Paige, Richie O’Dell, Rasulan Inayat- Khan, Emily Winestock, Carlie Quinn, Emily Tinger, Zack Shepard, Grant May, Anthony Markou
11th graders
Devon Gale, Colleen Krobtoh, Damon Kroboth Galen Martin, Lindsay VanDeusen, Harrison Zema, Sari Exley, Jeanie Smith
Freshman Brandon Shufelt shared this thoughts about the seminar which were relayed to the Board of Education at its March 19 meeting by Ms. Meghan Pepe, school counselor, and Tricia White, school psychologist. Read Brandon’s statement.
Youth Voices Center, Inc. is a newly formed non-profit organization which has the sole purpose of improving the lives of young people. The workshops are designed to help young people understand life, responsibilities and challenges, while also providing them with the necessary tools to succeed and be positive members of society. The Power of Peace Program has proven successful in many school districts due to the experience and passion of its founder, Michael Arterberry.
Please feel free to visit the Youth Voices Center, Inc. website at http://www.youthvoicescenter.org/ for more information.