A weekend of natural dyes, laughter, and leadership training in South Haven, with SAC!
The weekend of September 8-10 we took the eleven high schoolers on our Student Advisory Council (SAC) on a retreat in South Haven. For Emily and I (Miranda), the week beforehand was pretty grueling, with a couple of big grants due and lots of packing to be done before the weekend. Students, likewise, came with calendars full of homework deadlines and impending college applications.
But somehow, we all made it and it was magical. We spent a weekend together sharing meals and space. We build trust through improv games and puppetry, with beloved board member Sonnet Quinn, (And may I just say, we have some VERY funny kids. SNL should be holding auditions here each year.) We stretched our creative muscles through a photo scavenger hunt with Board President and Photography teacher Jack Burk, who gave us insightful prompts. We grounded ourselves through a natural dye workshop with Emily Christensen, who taught us about the medicinal, agricultural, and cultural uses for marigolds and helped us dye tea towels using flowers from her own garden. We slowed down and attended to the beauty of our food in a challah braiding workshop, and then we ate the fruits of our labor at dinner; it was delicious! Somewhere in there we also managed to have quiet time reflecting on poems and paintings, and to visit the beach and downtown. Oh, and did I mention the s’mores and campfire time where we dove into the history of CultureWorks and envisioned the year ahead?
While the weekend was jam-packed with amazing activities, it’s other things that are sticking with me: The way students listened to each other and found new things in common. The laughter. The students who told us afterward that they’ve never made friends or been able to “unmask” around others so quickly
To be comfortably yourself as a young person is such a rare gift, and I’m beyond grateful to get to see these remarkable leaders blossoming into the fullness of who they are. They have so much to offer the world, and I can’t wait to see how they will use their gifts for the flourishing of our community.
