Schools

Challenge Day Returns to Perkiomen Valley High School

Students spend day breaking down walls and building bonds among high school community

A group of students and staff danced, talked, shared, hugged and sometimes wept during the second annual Challenge Day, March 1, an event aimed at improving relationships, and reducing bullying, among the school community members.

Founded by husband and wife Yvonne and Rich Dutra in 1987, the Challenge Day Program, according to the website, “provides teens and adults with tools to tear down the walls of separation, and inspires participants to live, study, and work in an encouraging environment of acceptance, love, and respect.”

Challenge Day first came to PVHS last year and was well received and remembered by the cross-section of selected students and faculty. Several of last year's student participants donned white T-shirts and served as teen leaders to help guide their peers through their first Challenge Day.

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When asked about the vibe of the school after Challenge Day 2011, some of the feelings of change "wilted," said Lauren Valerio and "died down," said Travis Gilbert. However, each person was "still affected," Gilbert said.
Teen leader Lorraine Sacro said the day "changed my entire life."
"(The slogan) 'Be the Change' is three little words, but they mean so much, and you get their meaning" after Challenge Day.

For Lauren, she realized "you don't go through things by yourself, and you don't judge others before you know them."

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First-time Challenge Day participant Thomas Harvey-Cameron also felt a deeper bond and understanding of his classmates.
"I've made new friends," he said at the end of the school day. "(They opened up) and I feel I really know them and care about how they're doing."

Challenge Day leaders Angela Aguilar and Ron Gensler addressed the adults and teens as the day got under way. Challenge Day is about getting to know people on the inside, Aguilar said, outside of the cliques, the gossip and the rumors.

"You're stepping outside your comfort zone today," Gensler said.
"We (people) separate for the wrong reasons every single day."

Red House Principal Sean Berk who was instrumental in bringing Challenge Day to PV, said the event "brings down walls between teachers, students and staff."
What is shared that day can also "help with discipline problems," Berk said. "It lets (the staff) know what's going on in the homes, and (what they see) is not just the situation in front of them."


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