Implemented before the holiday break, the peer mediation program is designed to train students to help their peers, addressing social issues and problems.

The group of 28 peer mediators took two school days for training in the Lancer Media Center. Mrs. Collins and Mr. Fioravanti began with teaching the five step mediation process of how to help people solve their own problems.  The five steps include: introduction, storytelling, needs, problem solving and agreement.

The training consisted of activities such as watching clips of conversations without the audio to understand the situations without hearing them word for word, helping the mediators learn to read people’s body language.

Also, the instructors would sit two kids in a room in need of mediation.  A student would then be sent in to help their two peers come to an agreement.

Sophomore Arianna Turello said about her experience:  “It was a great experience learning how to get situations under control and how to help people solve their own problems.”

Turello mentioned that there was also a licensed therapist that came in to talk to the mediators as well during the training.

At the end of the training, the new student mediators showed noticeable results on how to help others.  But first, there were steps to learn about themselves.  Students involved were given worksheets to express their feelings.  They wrote down on a paper their strengths, weaknesses and insecurities. They described what they think about themselves as people such as “kind, outgoing, listener, selfless, etc.”  Also, mediators got to express personal facts such as birth dates, siblings and jobs.

Overall, the training  was successful.

Turello said, “I learned about what I can do to help others but also, a lot about myself in this process as well.”  It was very positive experience for these mediators.

Mrs. Baumgartner, one of the other teachers involved with the program, said, “Training was great, actually.  The kids learned a lot about how to put their personal feelings aside and deal with problems without having any bias. Role playing was a great activity in doing this.”