What do a rock ’n’ roll band, a hip hop dancer and Edmonton’s poet laureate have in common?
They will all be at Servus Place on Monday, Nov. 18 for the Students on Stage Youth Action Conference.
The message is to stop bullying at home, in schools and in the community. Through a series of workshops in music, dance, poetry and theatre, an expected 180 junior high students will be doing just that – standing up to bullying.
“The arts are a great way to practice sometimes what we are scared of in the real world,” said Courtney Lohnes, an educational facilitator with the Stop Abuse in Families Society (SAIF) in St. Albert.
Students will split up into four different workshops: music led by the Rock and Roll Society and the Centre for the Arts, dance by a hip hop instructor from DanceCo Ltd., poetry by Edmonton’s Poet Laureate Mary Pinkoski and theatre led by Concrete Theatre.
Through the different art mediums the students will be able to express their thoughts, ideas, and experiences on ways to stop bullying. They will then present these ideas to the whole group at the end of the conference.
Lohnes said there isn’t a specific message the conference will be sending out, but they will be focusing on building inner strength to create a safe, supportive culture in schools.
This year will be the first time Students on Stage – involving youth from across the region including Edmonton, St. Albert, Sturgeon County and Westlock – will be held in St. Albert. Last year the conference was held in Edmonton.
SAIF’s executive director Doreen Slessor said the conference highlights the work SAIF does year around with more than 5,000 youth. They teach kids what a healthy relationship looks like, how to prevent family violence and bullying and access to youth counselling services.
“I can’t wait to see what they come up with when we take over Servus on Monday,” she said.
Both Lohnes and Slessor hope students will bring the day’s activities back into their schools and the anti-bullying message will go beyond just the day and extend to the rest of the year.
The Soaring program is currently recruiting high school volunteers for the conference. Students may assist the event’s facilitators or help photograph and videotape the conference.
For more information contact the Soaring program coordinator Laura Salter at 780–459–6666.
