Student leadership masterclass: Mediating conflict

 Hard conversations are everywhere, but examples of how to handle them well are harder to find. This year’s Community Day assembly featured guest speaker Jason Craige Harris, an expert on leadership and effective communication. Mr. Harris also facilitated a leadership masterclass workshop, teaching students how to approach conflict and thoughtfully engage in challenging conversations.

 The hardest type of discussion stems from a disagreement, Mr. Harris said.

 “I wanted students to take away the idea that it’s possible to have a hard conversation that goes well. I wanted them to walk away knowing they could be people who would embody that possibility in their everyday practice.”

 Mr. Harris facilitated an activity where students practiced three skills: asking clarifying and probing questions, looping back what they heard and reframing a statement of judgment into a statement of compassion.

 “My goal was to give students a place to practice the skills at a lower intensity,” he said. “I didn’t want to throw them right into the deep end.”

 Katja Rankel ’28 said the activity was the most meaningful part of Community Day.

 “I didn’t know many people in my workshop, so people that I am not usually comfortable with were talking to me,” she said. “It made it feel like actual conflict, and hearing feedback from my group was very useful. It was a good way to put his words into practice.”

—Morgane Massard ’28

Challah making

 Students sat side by side in the Commons, braiding and decorating sweet challah dough. During the Jewish Cultural Club (JCC) workshop, participants also learned about the cultural significance of challah. The workshop was open to all students.

 JCC Co-President Lexi Mack ’26 said the main goal for the workshop was to connect people.

 “Challah-making brings people together while teaching them about the Jewish community. The point of challah is that it symbolizes community and coming together.”

 The workshop offered participants a chance to try something new or share their knowledge with others.

 “Eating challah on Friday nights for Shabbat is a special tradition that I have with my family,” participant and JCC member Leah Cooper ’28 said. “It was really cool to have a space to express and share our culture with other people.”

 Jonathan Andreoli ’26 learned from the challah-making workshop.

 “It was a great experience because I got to try something that was completely new,” he said. “Not everyone who did the workshop was Jewish, but I think everyone there had a good time and felt welcome.”

—Natalie Barouch ’29

Dechlorination challenge

 Participants in the dechlorination challenge applied their scientific learning beyond class with a hands-on exploration. Facilitated by Peilin Li, Robbie Lally, David Zhou, Matthew Wang and Tristan Ko (all ’28), the workshop guided students in developing processes to filter out chlorine, soil and other impurities from solutions.

 Robbie said the idea for the workshop came from filtration activities at the Middle School.

 “In eighth grade, we did filtration with other contaminants, so we decided to try that since we thought it’d be plausible and seemed like fun.”

 Participants used gravel, sand, coffee filters, water bottles and activated charcoal to purify their water.

 “We decided that we should try to filter out chlorine because you can easily test for how much of it you have,” Robbie said. “That way, you can see how well you’ve filtered it.”

 Nathan Minn ’28 participated in the workshop.

 “I thought it was an interesting concept that could come in handy if you were in the wilderness,” he said. “It was very hands-on, and we were able to complete the challenge.”

 However, he wished the facilitators hadn’t initially revealed the best strategies.

 “They gave away the answers and the best methods of filtration at the start, which was kind of disappointing because everyone ended up doing similar things,” he said.

—Santi Cavallo ’28

Blanket making

 Facilitators Anshika Chadda and Viena Desai (both ’26) hosted a blanket-making Community Day workshop to create warm blankets for cancer patients. They partnered with Seams of Hope, an organization working to raise awareness about childhood cancer. Workshop participants used fleece material to make six double-sided blankets.

 Anshika said she was surprised by the turnout for her workshop.

 “I learned how much everyone was willing to be there. I was given a really great group of people who were willing to learn, listen and follow instructions.”

 Viena helped students understand the workshop’s larger impact.

 “I hope students took away an impact greater than just making the actual blankets and making something creative,” she said. “I hope they took away how the blankets are being given to the Boston community and to those who need them.”

 Maggie Whitney ’28 attended the workshop.

 “The most memorable part was hearing where the blankets were going,” she said. “I did not realize how necessary it was for patients to have these blankets.”

—Morgane Massard ’28

Medical suturing

 Led by Jone Abadie, Sophie Reynolds and Dylan Cooper-Ewing (all ’28), Community Day’s medical suturing workshop introduced students to the technique used to stitch up cuts and wounds. Participants learned to close cuts on fake skin using medical practice needles.

 The workshop’s end result met Sophie’s goals.

 “It was meaningful to see people start to get the hang of suturing and feel more confident in themselves,” Sophie said. “Hopefully, they’ll continue to pursue their interest outside of the workshop.”

 Cata Longstreet-Lipson ’28 attended the workshop.

 “It was interesting to see what doctors do, and it was fun to know we were doing the same thing,” she said. “It introduced me to a community of people interested in medical suturing that I didn’t know existed. I got to see different sides of people that I didn’t know they had.”

 The workshop’s culture shaped Cata’s experience.

 “What stood out to me was how calm the environment felt,” she said. “It was comforting to think that everyone was figuring suturing out at their own pace without any pressure.”

—Santi Cavallo ’28