The “Challenge Day” was an all-day event that brought students and staff together to discuss their mental health, troubles, and hard times in their lives. Challenge Day is an organization/workshop that is based out of the Bay Area in San Francisco, California that helps young people learn to connect through powerful, life-changing programs in their schools and communities. The day-long, interactive program provides teens and adults with tools to tear down the walls of separation and inspires participants to live, study, and work in an encouraging environment of acceptance, love, and respect.

This event also brought our administration from the Point Pleasant School District, representatives from the Ocean County Prosecutors Office, and representatives of the LGBTQIA+ Organization of Ocean County to participate in this event.

I would like to introduce our challenge day leaders. First up is Enrique, born and raised in Los Angeles, and then moved to San Francisco. His passion is teaching the practice of Mindfulness and Social and Emotional Learning to teens. He is well-loved and respected for his inspirational work at Challenge Day, where he facilitates SEL workshops for thousands of young people all over the country during the school year. Our second leader was Gina, a Chicago native that moved to the West Coast in 2010. After four years of leading days and training other Challenge Day Leaders in the U.S., Canada, Holland, and Belgium, she took a brief hiatus to start a family. Gina is thrilled to be able to walk back into these rooms again to do this all-important work with young people. I would like to thank our leaders, on behalf of the school, for traveling over 5,000 miles to be here at PPBHS, embracing all of us with their spirit and kindness, and for building our school community.

As a participant in Challenge Day, our leaders did a great job bringing love to the East Coast and to speak for the participants that were with me, everyone had a great experience and left with the belief that we all have an opportunity to “be the change”.

In conclusion, the future will look brighter for our students, staff, and administration. Remember folks, “the best is yet to come”.