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Trico High School takes up "Challenge Day"

BY ADAM TESTA, The Southern

Monday, January 28, 2008 5:59 PM CST

CAMPBELL HILL — Jonathan Green felt like an outsider Monday – stepping away from his normal territory and entering an arena of life where he knew hardly anyone.

Green, principal of Pinckneyville Community High School, participated in a Challenge Day program at Campbell Hill Community Center sponsored by Trico High School.

Challenge Day is a national program aimed at making students feel safe in their school environment and open their thoughts and emotions to adult facilitators. About 85 students participated in the program Monday, and about 200 more will participate today and Wednesday, said event coordinator Cheryl Lodge.

Green said he knew none of the students and few of the teachers at the start of the day, but by the end, he witnessed a world of change in everyone involved.

“I was just able to see kids going from not wanting to participate to being fully engaged by the end of the day,” he said.

Students and facilitators participated in a variety of activities through the day, Lodge said. Morning activities focused on large group icebreakers while afternoon sessions were completed in small groups encouraging members to open their thoughts and emotions to the adults.

While the students were the focal point of the day, Green said the event helped him think about issues he faces in his own personal life.

“This is the type of program we love to use in the school system, but it really opened my eyes to a lot of challenges I face personally,” he said.

A Challenge Day team consisting of 25 students has been formed at Trico to help continue the students’ visions of positive changes that came from the day, Lodge said. The national program provides follow-up exercises and the students have some ideas of their own.

One idea presented is to have days where lunch room seating gets shuffled around to break up groups of students who always sit together at lunch and allow them to meet other students and talk to them over a meal, Lodge said.

In order for a school to host a Challenge Day event, at least one representative must attend an event elsewhere, she said. Green and a counselor from Marion High School attended Monday, and representatives of the Murphysboro school district will attend today, she said.

Green said he hopes to bring the program to Pinckneyville but it likely wouldn’t happen until next year because of fundraising efforts necessary to pay for the event. Trico raised about $10,600 in donations from area businesses, organizations and individuals, Lodge said.

“I know that it’s a day well worth the time, money and effort it took,” she said.