Middle School Students Attend Equity & Inclusion Summit at Gill St. Bernard’s School

Ten members from the MFS Middle School Diversity Club, accompanied by Middle School Diversity Coordinator and History Teacher Dan So-Schoos, participated in the third annual Middle School Equity and Inclusion Summit at Gill St. Bernard’s School on Saturday, October 22. This conference brings together seventh and eighth grade students from a number of New Jersey independent schools. This year’s event featured Alyea Pierce, a poet and National Geographic Explorer, as the keynote speaker, along with breakout group discussions and activities designed to help the students become authentic advocates for themselves and others in the realms of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Students were able to share their experiences, their strategies for bringing positive change to their school communities, and their visions and hopes for the future beyond their campus walls. The Summit ended with an opportunity for the students to share the results of a poetry-writing activity that Alyea Pierce led during her keynote, which asked participants to reflect on their names (given, family, or both). “It was moving and inspiring to hear such a range of emotions candidly shared, often with clever composition, and always with authenticity and passion,” remarked Dan, adding, “We are looking forward to seeing how these students can bring some of the inspiration and ideas from that day back here to our work at MFS.” 

Participants (all 8th grade):
Emmie Huynh, Morgan Krasner, Karrington Colon, Sarai Reyes, Nicolleta Tedeschi, Kieren Ning, Tracy Strauss, Maya Sevrin, Juliano Buniag, Olivia Arzu.