As part of Langley School District’s Restorative Action program, Community Justice Initiatives facilitated an annual retreat weekend for Langley Fine Arts School in December 2010. The students took part in a three day training retreat at the beautiful Chehalis Healing House in Harrison Mills, BC. During the retreat, students learned the principles and values of Restorative Action and how to apply that knowledge to help resolve conflict within their school. In addition, the retreat created a unique team building experience.
This is the fifth year of the retreat and it proved to be a powerful experience for the students. They not only learned about Restorative Action but also got to hear a personal story of strength and healing after a tragic crime. A mother, who had gone through a mediation process with the person responsible for her daughter’s death, shared her story. The students gained insight into the depth of forgiveness possible and how a terrible incident can have positive outcomes. They learned that Restorative Action can be used effectively in a range of situations from school conflicts to serious crime. The students also realized the healing power for both the person harmed and the person who caused the harm.
The training team at the retreat included Madeleine Delittle (counsellor) and Susan Perkins (Vice Principal) from Langley Fine Arts School. Madeleine and Susan were instrumental in setting a positive tone for the weekend as well as helping to facilitate the workshops. Deborah Deacon, a third year Restorative Action mediator, was responsible for facilitating all the team building activities over the course of the weekend. She did a great job and everyone had a lot of fun participating.
I am truly grateful to Jon Bonnar, principle at Langley Fine Arts for being supportive of Restorative Action at the school and allowing the retreat to go ahead this year. A special thank you needs to go to the Langley Fine Arts parent advisory council for supporting a number of students who otherwise would not have been able to attend.
Thank you also to Coast Capital Savings for their invaluable financial support to the Restorative Action program in Langley School District. Coast Capital Savings has been supporting this valuable program since the 2007/08 school year.
For more information please contact Dan
Basham at 604.534.5515 or danbasham@cjibc.org
Fraser
Region Community Justice Initiatives
101 – 20678 Eastleigh Crescent Langley, BC
