Student Engagement
Workshops & Events
High school students, under the guidance of clinical school staff, create workshops and presentations for adults (including parents, faculty, school board, local and state conferences) as well as for students of all ages. Programs can include panels, small groups, art projects, music, and movement. A hallmark of all programs is that they are interactive and experiential. The centerpiece of OYP is “Own Your Peace Week”, filled with daily homeroom and after school skill and community exercises and culminating in an all-school speak-out assembly. Courageous students stand in front of their peers and teachers and describe their own struggles with a variety of issues and the tremendous value of receiving and providing support. The response from students, faculty and administrators alike is overwhelmingly powerful and positive. Topics include:
- Emotional Intelligence – identifying and speaking feelings
- Navigating Emotional Challenges
- Mental Health Challenges – anxiety, depression, eating disorders, OCD, loss and grief – student outreach and supports
- Resources for Emotional Health
- Back-to-school for Parents/Freshman
- Healthy Social Media Engagement
- Identity
- Diversity and Equity – LGBTQ+, Race, and Intersectionality
- Annual School-wide Cross-Cultural Wellness Breakfast
- Substance Use and Mental Health
Equity Spotlight
Equity work aims to Increase the racial, cultural, and social equity in a community, creating and modeling a safe space for learning, sharing and growing. Students at Needham High created a sister group extending from OYP called SAFE – Students Advocating For Equity. SAFE goals include:
- Teach skills and strategies for responding to words and behaviors that marginalize or mistreat any individual or group in our community
- Decrease identification of people using only one factor, trait, etc. (increase awareness of people’s complex identities)
- Increase knowledge and closeness between ethnic and racial groups
- Increase mandatory curriculum for every student regarding ALL people of color and important people in history
- Hold “Courageous Conversations on Race” for every student
