Cass Lake-Bena STAR Leadership Team

Last fall, 12 young leaders and two supporting staff from Cass Lake-Bena High School and the Alternative Learning Center took part in the two day Leadership Retreat at Concordia Language Villages, as part of their work with Peacemaker Resources of Bemidji. The STAR Team Leadership Retreat took place with the purpose in mind being to increase knowledge and understanding around the group's mission, along with actively developing skills such as responsible decision-making, problem-solving and self-regulation, while also building camaraderie among the group members.

The 2014-2015 school year's programming, now in its third year, continued with re-establishing involvement of former student members and recruiting new group members for the high school STAR Leadership Team, along with strengthening connections with existing groups in the school to increase capacity and sustainability. Students took part in several different activities, including an additional leadership retreat delivering a half-day leadership and goal-setting seminar, sent their peers to winter break with a "positive note," hosted a Family Fun Night, made bracelets with the slogans "Be Your Own Hero" and #PledgePositive and is now working on regarding healthy relationships, including work around respect and conflict resolution skills, safe dating practices and understanding and knowing what to do if ever in unsafe relationship situations.