Wednesday was a beautiful day and the start of Round 2 Workshops! Delegates took part in two of the following:
–Advocacy: Delegates explore various methods of advocating, understand advocacy’s connection to communication and determine ideal roles and settings in which to advocate for a cause.
–Diversity: Delegates address the differences between stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination and examine the roles they play in society.
–Leadership, Power and Privilege: Delegates discuss the kinds of privilege they possess, determine the effects of privilege on the process of gaining power and reflect on how power and privilege impact their leadership.
–Pressure and Decision Making: Delegates share pressures faced by today’s middle schoolers, brainstorm strategies to effective combat pressure and analyze how these strategies make a leader more effective.
After lunch, delegates enjoyed sports and board games during recreation followed by their second Mix Session of the week. During this time, delegates use the skills they’ve gained in workshops to address a challenge in a simulated project. (ex: The Athleaders have been charged with designing an inclusive Olympiad that accommodates individuals with physical or intellectual disabilities.) The sessions often start with competing ideas and a bit of confusion, but staff observe and debrief with delegates to help them determine ways to adjust their process to work effectively towards their goals.
Following Mix, delegates enjoyed Tuning and continued to make progress on their S.M.A.R.T. goals for the week. They often get feedback from their tuning group to help them identify opportunities to work towards their goal while on site.
In committees, delegates worked on their individual projects to begin preparing for their end-of-week products. For example, the Variety Show and Closing Ceremony are all completely planned by delegates and offer a unique and fun experience that reflects the personality of this year’s delegate class.
After dinner and a round of group games, delegates got to enjoy Messy Games Night! Delegates played competition games with all kinds of messy supplies and by the end of the night, most were sporting a shaving cream beard or face mask. And of course, what Messy Games Night would be complete without a water balloon fight?! Needless to say, everyone was asked to shower tonight. 🙂
Delegates ended the night with a hall meeting to wind down and reflect on the day. On deck for Thursday: the second half of Round 2 Workshops, Mix Session 3 and the Variety Show!
