ProjectGiveBack.org

 

Project GiveBack Sponsors 2011 Freshman Summit at Oxon Hill High School

As a part of its Youth EXPOSEure Effort to positively influence youth in our community, Project GiveBack is sponsoring the 2011 Freshman Summit at Oxon Hill High School. For more information please contact by email at andrea.johnson@pgcps.org. More information is available at the school’s website http://www.pgcps.org/~oxonhill/

Vision and Mission

The goal of Freshman Summit is to afford 9^th grade students with information that will provide a sound knowledge base that will serve to enhance social development and encourage growth in self-awareness, knowledge of self and increase positive self perception.  The sessions will be gender specific to ensure that the students feel comfortable discussing issues they may not want to address in front of the opposite gender and also will allow for more candid interaction from the participants within the sessions.

Many of the lessons that are missed in life revolve around issues that have become taboo to discuss, primarily money and sexuality. The idea for Freshman Summit is based on my perception of the needs of high school students that are not consistently being met within the home, school and the confines of healthy relationships.  Humans learn how to exist in relationships from birth. It is not until much later in life that we that we realize that the capacity to create a relationship albeit healthy or unhealthy lies within the individual and the way in which we were taught through life lessons and experiential learning. School is the birthplace of extra-familial social interaction and as society changes it is becoming more and more obvious that certain lessons are being negated by and large. The vision for this summit is to provide students with a sound knowledge base on which to build healthy relationships with self and others; manage life’s obstacles and opportunities; and start paving the road to building healthy, prosperous and well considered plans for their future.

The student will participate in two mandatory sessions that will address Personal/Emotional Health and Wellness and Personal Finances and Money Management.

Personal health and wellness sessions will include areas such as personal care, hygiene, dealing with puberty and young adulthood, safe-sex and sexually transmitted disease personal responsibility for ones actions, self-esteem and handling crisis situations.

Personal Finances and Money Management sessions will include an understanding a living wage, poverty and a comfortable lifestyle; helping students to understand money management; the importance of savings; credit management; home ownership; and debt/credit ratio; handling unexpected financial obligations. 

The two optional sessions of which the students will choose one will address goal setting/post secondary planning and Career exploration.

Goal Setting/Post Secondary Planning: Things to know about how life happens after high school. What can be done to prepare for life after high school including college preparation/college life/life in the workforce/life with a trade /non-traditional careers?

Career Exploration (Multiple speakers) 2-3 presenters discussing their careers and the path they took to reach their goals from high school through current position including Q& A at the end of each presenter. Presenters limited to 15-18 minutes each including Q & A.