Perfect synergy: two new high school classes were seeds of Foundation grants and a BHS alum provides important insights for our high school students.
One of the dispositions of the Bronxville Promise is to challenge our students to “engage the world around you and make it a better place”. A new social studies yearlong elective class, Global Leadership Seminar, has our students exploring issues of race, gender and identity through the lens of service learning. The class came about as a result of a Foundation grant. In the summer of 2019, two Bronxville High School juniors and a BHS teacher had the opportunity to attend the Student Global Leadership Institute (SGLI) at the Punahou School in Honolulu. Our students joined approximately 70 of their peers, representing over 20 schools and 10 countries to collaborate on examining global issues, formulate solutions, engage the world and develop as leaders, thru participation in workshops, field trips, and seminars to understand the Institute’s 2019 theme of Moral Courage from multiple perspectives.
One of the requirements of the Institute was for participants to share the insights they learned to their high schools and to lead an initiative related to this theme. These seniors, Sabrina Mellinghoff and Chloe Slater, who are among those enrolled in the BHS Global Leadership Seminar, proposed the topic Moral Courage to the class for consideration for a project.
Piece #2 fell into place, last June Matt Behrens, BHS ’14, spoke to our senior class; his words were so meaningful that members of the junior class heard about his presentation. Those in the seminar elective class felt Matt’s views were a good example of moral courage in coming forward to speak about gender bias, gender inequity and sexual harassment.
December 2019 the students organized a High School Assembly with Matt Behrens BHS ’14 as the featured speaker. Matt’s presentation inspired seniors Eileen Marshall & Emma Estes to create a documentary.
Piece #3 falls into place as Eileen & Emma are students in the Bronco TV Class elective. Thanks to a Foundation grant for Bronco TV, (4th floor Studio B was converted into a TV studio with first rate lighting, cameras, teleprompter and news desk) students now have an opportunity to learn TV and Film production and are inspired to create in a state of the art studio.
Eileen and Emma entered the film documentary into the Girls Impact the World Film Festival (GITWFF). This organization provides the opportunity for high school and college students to submit original short films focused on critical women’s issues such as girls’ education, ending violence against women, poverty & economic independence, and authentic beauty/body image.
Congratulations to BHS Seniors Eileen Marshall and Emma Estes. Their documentary “Be a Man” with Matt Behrens BHS ’14, is up for an award in the “Girls Impact the World” film festival.
Please take a moment to watch the work of these talented students in “Be A Man” https://gitwff.org/watch/.
This synergy of opportunities and connections both in the classroom and throughout the broader community in large part owes its origins to the original support of the Foundation.