Our thoughts and prayers are with our SISCL family

Dear Friends:

Most of the time we are running to do something, whether it’s to get to work, home, shopping, a report, etc. We all lead hectic lives and we teach our children to do the same. Last week, for one child in our Staten Island School of Civic Leadership School Program, this hustle and bustle lifestyle caused her to run for a bus on her way home from school and a truck hit her. This unfortunate accident resulted in her losing her life.

Upon reflection, there wasn't much any one of us could have done as she was hurrying to get home and begin her summer. She never looked to see oncoming traffic and just ran across the street. This incident makes me wonder about all the rushing around we do, never thinking, never stopping to just take a breath and look.

We give our deepest condolences to the family of Aniya Williams, the school, to her fellow students and teachers/administrators at the Staten Island School of Civic Leadership as well as our NYCID team working at SISCL. If there is any way in which you feel we could help, please let me know.

And most of all, if there is a lesson to be learned, I urge you all to take a moment to just pause and remember to breath, remember to watch, remember that nothing is more important than our lives and the lives of others.

-Dominick


Dominick J. Brancato
Executive Director
New York Center for Interpersonal Development

NYCID Summer Camp at the SI School for Civic Leadership

NYCID 2011 Summer Camp Flyer

Did You Go To Summer Camp Last Summer? How about next summer?

Justin Sword’s sister is jealous. His mother says Justin’s sister, who attended a different summer camp, wants to spend next summer at the NYCID summer camp. Justin had just too much fun!

Over 50 kids spent a wonderful summer at our first summer camp incorporating programming built on The 7 Habits of Happy Kids. The camp took place at the Staten Island School of Civic Leadership (PS 861).

Take a look at the pictures here. Wouldn’t you like to be a kid again and attend next summer with Justin and his sister?  

Our partnership with the Staten Island School of Civic Leadership is bringing great rewards for hosting us.  Please send us any suggestions you have to make next year even better!

"Summer Camp 2010"

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Learning to Manage Conflict

SISCL AP Donna Nilsen, Myles Williams, Harold Gibson, Cheolieces Shannon, Ervin Gaskin, SISCL Principal Rose Kerr, Jennifer Gutierrez, Nia Salce, Tasheé Fulmore and NYCID Training Institute Manager Regina Shields.

On June 16, the Staten Island School of Civic Leadership (SISCL) completed the New York Center for Interpersonal Development’s Peace Power workshop series. Over the course of the spring semester, NYCID’s Training Institute lead 8 first grade and 10 sixth grade students in 8 weeks of after-school sessions focusing on conflict resolution, positive communication and anger management concepts and techniques.

The lessons learned in these workshops concentrated on understanding the nature of conflict and the personal feelings and reactions that we all experience in a conflict situation. A guiding principle of Peace Power is that once an individual has greater self awareness, is able to grasp the positive outcomes that may arise from a dispute and becomes skilled in constructive communication techniques, they can empower themselves to make more productive choices towards resolving conflict in a mutually beneficial manner. 

After the first 8 weeks of the program were completed in late April, 7 of the sixth grade students elected to continue on for another 6 weeks of intensive training to become peer mediators. SISCL hopes to launch a full school-based Peer Mediation program in the fall.

The approaches and principles emphasized by the Peace Power and Peer Mediation programs fit in well with SISCL’s mission to develop student leaders who are invested in the public good and the success of the community as a whole. A ceremony celebrating the students’ achievements was held on the last day of group, with students stating that they were eager to come back in the fall and participate in their school’s mediation and civic leadership program.