High School Staff and Students to Participate in Challenge Day

Next week, faculty and students at will have a unique opportunity to learn more about both one another and the social pressures of high school in an exercise called Challenge Day.

The purpose of the Monday, Jan. 9 program is to help bring to light the difficult issues in high school communities, while educating staff and students on how to foster a culture of understanding, according to Lee Bruzaitis, Public Information Officer for Manchester Township Public Schools.

These issues include, but are not limited to: “Cliques, gossip, rumors, negative judgments, teasing, harassment, isolation, stereotypes, intolerance, racism, sexism, bullying, violence, homophobia, hopelessness, apathy, and hidden pressures to create an image, achieve or live up to the expectations of others,” she said.

“Challenge Day's mission is to provide youth and their communities with experiential workshops and programs that demonstrate the possibility of love and connection through the celebration of diversity, truth and full expression,” said program founders Richard and Yvonne St. John Dutra in a statement.

The six and a half hour Challenge Day program, which will be held for the first time in Manchester, was created for 100 students.

"Our program is created to build connection and empathy, and to fulfill our vision that every child lives in a world where they feel safe, loved, and celebrated,” the Dutras said.

Coordinating the program at Manchester Township High School are Vice-Principal Evelyn Swift, 25 faculty members and members of the Challenge Day staff from California. Much as the program is designed, it will also be offered to 100 participating students from Manchester high school students.

“The actual program is terrific,” Swift said. “I was informed about Challenge Day from the Principal of Keansburg High School, Dennis Adams, who is also a Manchester resident.”

Swift said that she went to Keansburg High School last year to witness Challenge Day in action.

“It was a really terrific, all-day workshop. You get a cross-section of the student body: different grade levels, academic levels, gender, levels of extracurricular involvement," she said. "You can make a deeper level of impact by addressing a broader spectrum of students."

Swift said that one important motto of Challenge Day is its “Be The Change” message, with a three-step formula for doing so: Notice, Choose and Act. In other words, to notice whether there is conduct going on that could be harassing or harmful to another student, to choose a proper course of action, and then act appropriately.

“Last year, it was Keansburg’s second year of holding the program. A club was even created after Challenge Day to further the positive goals established by the program,” Swift said. “It became the catalyst for a great deal of impact on the students.”

Swift concluded that she was very excited about next Monday’s program, and hoped it would be a true learning experience for everyone involved, students and staff alike. “It’s an exciting opportunity for the students and staff to work with each other and do something positive,” she said.

Instructor and Challenge Day administrator Danielle Palmieri said that Swift helped to obtain funds from the Manchester Township PTA, Manchester Township Educational Foundation and Manchester Township Municipal Alliance to pay for the program. 

“It’s a very unique day. Students and staff get to see each other in a different light and make connections," Palmieri said. "It’s meant to show that we’re all on the same page."

Palmieri explained that the program will take place inside the school gymnasium, which will be secured so that those not participating in the program will not have access to the gym.

“That way, there are no distractions for those who are in the program,” she said. The instructor added that the school is providing lunch and refreshments for those who are participating in Challenge Day.