During Indoor Recreation – DANCE PARTY!
Hello MSEL families!
We’ve had a busy first 30 hours! We kicked off the program with a tour of the campus and then ice-breaking games so the delegates can get to know each other better. Our first formal activity was “Jump-Off,” which consisted of problem-solving games designed specifically for the staff to observe delegates’ different leadership abilities so they can best select their “Tuning Partners” – which are their mentoring pairs for the rest of the week.
After dinner, delegates attended their first workshop, “What Is Leadership?” which focused on different leadership styles, what leadership means to our delegates, and how it translates to their everyday lives.
Following that, delegates were treated to a decades-old MLW tradition called Visions, a candle-light ceremony held outdoors after dark. Delegates sat in silence while staff members, one at a time, recited a poem or song lyrics that has meaning to them personally. This provided delegates an opportunity to learn a little more about their staffers, and it was a nice way to settle down after a very active day.
This morning, delegates experienced the first Morning Sing of the week. Little Bunny Foo Foo was followed by our Announcements song. At the end of the week, ask your child what their favorite Morning Sing song is!
The first round of workshops began this morning, and they were divided by teams:
The Lost Delegates: Motivation and Empowerment with Ed and Cece
Delegates defined motivation and empowerment, and distinguished between the two. they discussed various types of motivation and discovered ways to empower others. They analyzed the meaning of power and influence as they relate to motivation and empowerment. Finally, they understood how to apply motivation and empowerment within the context of their daily lives.
Athleaders: Self Awareness and Identity
Delegates defined self awareness and determined the importance of having it. They defined identity, determined the strengths they each possess, and explored the importance of self awareness as a leader.
The Ozians: Leadership 101 with Ciara and Jasmine
Delegates identified the steps of planning a project using S.M.A.R.T goals. They defined and practiced the concepts of contingency planning, troubleshooting, prioritization, and revision. They explored the roles individuals play in groups. They discussed the steps to effectively plan a project while moving a team through the stages of group development. Finally, delegates developed evaluation skills to measure a project’s success.
The Jedis: Group Meeting
instead of a workshop, The Jedi’s had their Group Meeting which is a time for games purposely designed for them to bond deeply and quickly with their teammates. We want them to go home with 20 new best friends!
After workshops, delegates had lunch and then attended their committees, where they are able to immediately put into practice the skills learned in their morning workshops:
Variety Show: Plans and implements the Variety Show that will take place on Thursday evening.
Closing Ceremony: Plans and implements the Closing Ceremony that will take place Saturday morning.
Community Service: Constructs a 30-minute community service project that all delegates can participate in on Friday morning.
Newsletter: Creates an online newsletter of each day’s activities.
Awareness: Selects an in issue important to them and their peers, develops an awareness campaign to engage other delegates throughout the week, and hopefully be something for continued advocacy upon return to home and school communities.
Next, delegates went with their tuning partners for an hour of goal-setting and mentoring. Our recreation time had to be moved indoors due to an approaching storm, but luckily that indoor space is attached to the dining hall so we still made it to dinner on time regardless of the weather outside.
More to come tomorrow!