By Hillary Travis
Special to powhatantoday.com

Every year, Powhatan High School tries new things, and always has something to keep its students occupied and entertained. Last year, for instance, one of the greatest highlights was a rock-and-roll AIDS benefit concert, featuring several local student bands and a day full of fun, entertainment, and astonishing talent. This year, several events are coming up that are definite must-sees. In May, look forward to the Wizard of Oz play, a musical being organized by several high school students and organizations that is sure to enchant. The play is scheduled for performances on May 2 and 3. Also, students are ready to run for their lives… or, someone else’s, in the Relay for Life marathon on May 30. One of the best parts of high school has always been getting involved with school activities, and students are certainly getting into the school spirit as spring rolls around.

As for April, Powhatan High School will be hosting its first all-girls leadership conference. Organized by current students, the conference is an intriguing concept indeed, and one that will hopefully garner much success and future continuation. The conference is being led by students in Mrs. Conway Blankenship’s Emerging Leaders course, a class of only seven girls which focuses on individual leadership skills and incorporates the Future Problem Solving Program (FPS) into several of its activities. “This is not a normal class,” boasts Mrs. Blankenship of the Emerging Leaders group. “I’m a facilitator. They run the class.” Students participate in activities ranging from individual reading assignments and reflection on leadership to job mentoring and group projects. What is it like teaching a class of only girls? With a smile, Mrs. Blankenship notes “It’s been a treat for me. I raised two sons!”

The conference, “For Girls, By Girls,” is being organized as part of the Community Problem Solvers Program (CMPS), one of the many factors of FPS that students are encouraged to compete in. With CMPS, students get together to solve a problem in their local community, using the six-step process common to FPS (involving the development of challenges, an underlying problem, solutions, criteria by which to judge the solutions, a ranking, and a finalized plan of action). The Emerging Leaders students came to a consensus that one local problem was the lack of emphasis on female leadership, as well as health issues, stress management, and preparation for high school. The seven girls (seniors Jessica Allison, Miriam Isaac, Hillary Travis, and Jessica Zlotkowski, and juniors Krystina Bustos, Lindsey Cederholm, and Caitlyn Morgan) have been working since September on the project, including planning, fundraising (primarily through bake sales), making invitations, schedules, t-shirts, and more, and hope it will generate interest and excitement among the 7th through 9th grade girls invited to attend. Jessica Allison spoke on the experience, stating “The leadership conference ‘For Girls, by Girls,’ has been an exciting endeavor, and we hope that it will provide a memorable experience for Powhatan County’s young girls.”

The Emerging Leaders class is invited to attend the state-level FPS competition from April 11th to April 12th in Norfolk, Virginia, where they will present their CMPS project and hope to be recognized for their efforts. Also, if the project scores high enough, the students will be invited to attend the International Future Problem Solving Program Conference in Michigan (May 30th through June 2nd), where they will compete with other students from across the globe. Mrs. Blankenship has high hopes for the team, and is confident they will do well. “I’m proud of them,” she brags. “I think they’ve done a nice job.”

The conference is scheduled to be held at Powhatan High School on Saturday, April 19th, and will run from 8:45am to 3pm. Girls from Powhatan Junior High School as well as freshmen girls at PHS are welcome to attend, but attendance will be on a first-come, first-serve basis, as capacity is limited and therefore girls are encouraged to RSVP ASAP. The cost to attend is $6, which includes a boxed lunch. The key-note speaker for the conference will be Powhatan County Administrator Ms. Carolyn Cios, who will speak from 9:50 to 10:20 that morning. She visited the Emerging Leaders class on Thursday, March 13, and her friendly personality and lightheartedness were greatly appreciated. After reviewing tentative conference materials, she remarked “Girls can do anything boys can do. I love that theme!” She kept us smiling with her personal connections and ideas for the conference. “I always tell people ‘I look like a girl, but I act like a boy!” she commented, as she shared a brief description of her love for dirt biking, four-wheeling, and other such activities. A noted public speaker, Cios even spoke this year for several PHS government classes, which was a greatly popular and beneficial event, and she is certain to be a highlight of the day for the April conference.

To learn more about the For Girls, By Girls conference, or to see more information on the Emerging Leaders class, please visit Conway Blankenship’s class blog at http://moodle.powhatan.k12.va.us/wpmu/cblankenship, or feel free to e-mail any questions and/or comments to the students at . Also, more information on the Virginia Future Problem Solving Program can be found at http://www.vafps.org.