PECI teachers and students traveled to Ontario Tech University in Oshawa last month for a three-day Provincial Rural Youth Summit. PECI was graciously invited to represent the County in the discussion of strategies to combat hate and violence in schools and communities. 

Teachers Matt Sheahan and Rachel Bell and Grades 10 and 11 students Zoe Babcock, Cadel Evans, Atherton Graham, Annora DeRoo, Thomas Rice, and Abby Young represented the school at the summit. 

The importance of kindness and respect in secondary-school environments and the engagement of students striving to be the next leaders of tomorrow were among the summit’s themes.

“Youth are literally the leaders of today and tomorrow; for things to change in regards to sexism, racism, and prejudice, we need them to lead the way, supported by members of other generations,” Mr. Sheahan said.

Students and staff examined cyber safety, prejudice, extremism, and how best to tackle these topics in rural communities. By learning how to diffuse situations from experts, students and staff brought back solutions to share with the school community. The attending students hope to promote kindness so that everyone at PECI and in PEC can approach each other with kindness and respect.

“Our goal is to continue working on the plan and then implement it in our school and community to further educate,” Mr. Rice said. 

Part of the gathering focused on how hate and social media affect the developing brains and mental health of young people. Students recorded their screen-time on charts and found out which social media platforms affected their mental health most severely.

On the last day, students and staff considered ways to bring attention to hate in a positive light. The group strategized and organized plans for the next school year. 

“We organized our next steps, which I am looking forward to bringing to the PECI senior student body in 2024-25,” Zoe Babcock said.

Overall, the group came back feeling inspired and confident in promoting kindness and change, not only in PECI but also in the broader community.