NMS Students Attend Leadership Conference

By Laurie Borst

In mid-January, four students in the Gifted and Talented Educational Services (GATES) program from Newtown Middle School attended the Middle Level Student Leadership Training Conference presented by the Connecticut Association of Schools and the Connecticut Association of Student Councils. The theme of the conference was “Making Acceptance Acceptable.” The conference was held at Quinnipiac University in Hamden.

Seventh graders Nicole Lang and Brandon Hart and eighth graders Kate Siroky and Josh Engler took part in the daylong event. Students began the day in a team-building exercise.

The Newtown students were placed into groups with students from other schools. Each group was then subdivided into teams. The teams were given the task of constructing the tallest tower they could from straws, tape, and balloons.

The catch was they could discuss the project for five minutes and then they had to proceed without talking. If the structure collapsed, the students had to find a way to start over without talking.

Josh proudly reported his team built the tallest tower in his group. Kate noted that in each group, there was usually one person who had a good strategy for accomplishing the task.

After the building session, students heard several teachers speak about the importance of leadership, qualities of a good leader, and planning a successful task.

“A good leader is creative, responsible, intelligent,” Kate said.

The students reported that many of the attendees were student council members, who tend toward leadership positions.

Attending more leadership conferences were in their future, the students reported.