Placerville youth experience SPIRIT Retreat

by Mikaelyn Praker
7th-grader, Herbert C. Green Middle School

Recently I had the opportunity to experience something that not many people have the opportunity to experience. It was called a SPIRIT Retreat. It is a meeting for kids who were chosen by teachers, classmates and other people at Herbert C. Green Middle School. It helps the school by discussing ways to prevent bullying. It gave us information on what to do if we see something bad happening around us, like a fight or a person being called a name. There were teachers from our school and volunteers from Union Mine High School. This was an amazing privilege for me and other 5th- , 6th- and 7th-graders. There were also kids who were on the SPIRIT Team last year. Here is my story.

As we got off the bus, a cloud of mystery surrounded us. We knew why we were here, but not exactly what we were going to do. We had our retreat at a nearby church that the school rented for the day. We walked to a modest courtyard and were greeted by our counselor, Dr. Simpkin, and a table with folders and pens on it. Our first activity was to get to know everyone by getting in a circle and telling everyone our names. Next we got into groups and walked into the church. We did a group fish bowl activity and talked about what the SPIRIT Team did at our school last year.

As the day unfolded, we started to discuss the problems at our school and things we want to achieve next year. We talked about things that we feel strongly about, like longer dances, wearing certain colors that are related to gangs, and strategies on how to handle tough situations. Dr. Simpkin was very helpful and patient with us and our questions. She cleared our clouded minds. As we got on the bus to go back to our school, our minds were no longer shrouded with mystery, but filled with sunny flowers and all the exceptional opportunities ahead of us. We were all thinking about all the wondrous things that we had learned and the things we were going to do next year. We are important to our school and that feels fantastic!

Herbert C. Green Middle School in Placerville was the recipient of a Winter 2008 REACH Program Improvement grant, which helped to fund the SPIRIT Team Retreat.