Last Wednesday, ten Winchendon School student leaders went downtown to the Sacred Heart Church and joined students from the Town of Winchendon’s Murdock High School for a “Changemakers” summit. In addition, community stakeholders from the town, “Growing Places” and both schools observed and participated. First, the students designed and prepared a healthy meal based on principles they learned studying nutrition and “food justice.” While they cooked, the groups of students learned about each other and talked about their lives. After cooking, the students participated in an activity called “agree or disagree,” run by Ms. Jennings, Winchendon’s Director of Service Learning. This activity forced students to think about Winchendon’s strengths and weaknesses as a community and about how kids feel about different topics. Finally, the students ate the meal and chatted about how they can unite to propose changes that might help their communities. The students really enjoyed getting to know students from “the other school” and are planning to get together at the town planning committee to propose their ideas.
(Photos by Elliot Harvey)
