A group of four senior students at North Albion Collegiate Institute, working alongside Ms. Nosheen Mian (ACL, Guidance and Student Well-Being) and Mr. Edwards (CYW), successfully applied for and received a $10,000 grant from the City of Toronto to bring a Peace Project to the NACI school community.
Krish S., Gavindeep S., Salah S., and Mansoor D. envisioned a project that would train students in self-regulation, conflict resolution, de-escalation, peer mediation, and leadership. Over the course of two months, they met weekly with a select group of Grade 9 and 10 students for full-day sessions facilitated by Outward Bound Canada and Mental Health Nurse Prince Dumanat. The training included team-building experiences at the local ravine, the Outward Bound Canada Centre and Activate, while helping students develop the skills and confidence needed to become peer leaders.
What makes this initiative especially meaningful is that many of the students selected were not typically involved in student council or formal leadership opportunities. By investing in students who already have strong social influence among their peers, the program was able to unlock leadership potential and empower a new group of student leaders within the school.
The project culminated in a full day of activities led by the NACI students for nearly 50 incoming Grade 8 boys from Smithfield Middle School and North Kipling Junior Middle School. The students rose to the occasion, demonstrating the leadership, mediation, and self-regulation skills they had developed throughout the program. The day was an enormous success, with both feeder schools expressing interest in making this a regular occurrence.
