October 15, 2009 Youth Forum

Middle school students from eight Catholic schools gathered on October 15, 2009 to participate in a youth forum called, “Recognizing the Wisdom in our Lives,” held at the Mayville Park Pavilion.

The participating schools include:

• St. Boniface in Germantown
• St. Kilian in Hartford
• St. Gabriel in Hubertus
• Holy Angels in West Bend
• Holy Trinity in Kewaskum
• St. Katharine Drexel in Beaver Dam
• St. Mary in Mayville
• St. Mary in West Bend
• St. Frances Cabrini School in West Bend

The search for wisdom began with sheets of laminated comic strips. The young people were invited to read the comics, laugh whenever they wanted, and to choose their favorite comic strips based on the wisdom they give us about who we are as people. Part of what makes comic strips funny is how well they reveal what we are really like. By laughing at the comics, we often realize we are laughing at ourselves.

The group learned the presentation method called, “The Four G’s of Teaching.” It requires four basic steps:

• Grab my attention
• Give me something new
• Get something out of me
• Go make a difference

The youth sat in mixed groups, so they were able to meet students from different schools. Each table was given a Scripture from either the Old or New Testament. They were asked to look for the wisdom within the Scripture and to create a presentation for the rest of the participants on their particular Scripture, using the Four G’s of Teaching.

The students from each school designed projects and activities to bring the wisdom of Scripture and address the needs of their school. Examples of their projects include the following:

• St. Boniface: Fundraisers for a Trophy Case – bake sale, movie night, video game night, dances, babysitting, etc.
• St. Kilian: CCC – Cookies, coffee, cocoa to raise money for Smartboards
• St. Gabriel: Form a Student Council – after researching other schools’ councils
• Holy Angels: Human Vending Machine – hot cocoa and donut sale to raise money for charity
• Holy Trinity: Nature Cleanup Walk – for our school grounds and community
• St. Mary (Mayville): The “Improve Our Buddy” Program – during school Masses and designated buddy activity time
• St. Mary (West Bend): Care for Animals – clean cages, bathe and feed animals, take them for walks, etc.
• St. Frances Cabrini: Scripture Posters – coloring sheets for the student body
• St. Katharine Drexel: Painting Scripture – choose five scriptures to paint on school wall 

The students were asked to evaluate their experience at the youth forum. Here are some of their comments:

• Today, I learned that it is great to be a leader and there are a lot of fun ways to learn.
• Scriptures is with us everyday. 
• One thing I really like about being a leader is that other people look up to me and follow my actions.  
• As a leader, I feel like I have accomplished a lot, and now I feel even stronger after today. 
• I think that all parts of today were great and I am honored to be chosen to go. 
• One thing I like about being a leader is being responsible for doing good things. 
• The best part of today was really digging into the scriptures and making more sense out of them. 
• Today I learned that even though I am young, I can still be a leader. 

Representatives from every participating school were invited to come to Cardinal Stritch University to present their projects and share their learning. The public is also invited. Please join us on Sunday, April 25 at 3:00 PM.