Teen Leader Retreat September 2009

The Teen Leaders had their kick-off retreat on Saturday, September 19-20 at House of Peace. It was great fun!

This year, we are looking at core values and personal mission. Our four mentor groups named themselves: Compassion, Friendship, Inspiration and Love.

We are also focusing on presentation skills (using the “Four G’s of Teaching”) and the identification and expression of feelings. One of the games we played was “Hitchhiker.” There was an imaginary car, and each time a hitchhiker was picked up, one person got out. The hitchhiker expressed a feeling, and the other people in the car had to talk and demonstrate the same feeling before the audience could figure out what it was.

After lunch, Paul Dedinsky, the assistant district attorney (from the Milwaukee District Attorney’s Office) came to visit us to talk about restorative justice, and talking circles. He works with Milwaukee Public Schools through the Safe Schools/Healthy Students federal grant initiative in Milwaukee Public Schools, on restorative justice and violence prevention initiatives.

He taught us some fun games and told us interesting stories about crime and the legal system. Many teen leaders said the time spent with him was the best part of the day.

After supper, the Teen Leaders each wrote a personal mission statement. Their mission statements can be found by clicking here.

On Sunday, after Mass in the chapel with Father Matthew, we had breakfast with all the teen leaders’ parents. The Teen Leaders introduced themselves in their mentor groups, and talked about the value they chose for their group name.

Then the teen leaders surprised Lisa with a quilt! They secretly decorated quilt squares Saturday morning, and Steve’s mom Sue sewed the whole thing in ONE DAY! What a marvelous gift! Lisa will always cherish it!

Thanks to Ralph and Dominique who assisted with the retreat, and to Shirley and Randy who cooked.