The eighth annual Challenge Day in BHS history occurred on Thursday the 10th and Friday the 11th. Challenge Day is when two highly trained, passionate leaders from the San Francisco Bay Area are sent to a school to encourage teens to gain new perspectives. They help students accept one another and challenge us to stop judging and start becoming better people.

This program could be life changing to most people, but others might not keep up with this challenge. This helps teens understand other people, learn about them, and their story. Mr. Benjamin said, “Challenge Day is important for a lot of reasons; it very difficult to teach empathy and compassion and develop team building skills to build a community. So many kids feel isolated or feel they have nobody to speak to, and Challenge Day provides them with a very safe, comfortable environment to do that.”  

10th graders crossed Stewart Avenue to the ice skating rink and walked into a room full of dancing, high-fiving teachers who made up a tunnel for the students to walk through. Apparently, this was not as traumatizing as it might sound.

Students described the whole event as fulfilling and even fun. Comments were positive across the board:

“It was definitely worth it. People who didn’t go missed out on a great experience,” said sophomore Christina Giovanniello.

Fellow sophomore Joey LaMonica said, “Challenge day is when you connect with your grade and connect on a personal level. You learn a lot from other people and get to know their story.”

“It was great having support and respect from your other peers,” said Angel Perreta.

Emily McGlynn acknowledges Challenge Day as a “way for people to connect with each other in a way they never knew possible. You don’t think about all the awful things that happen around us, and to be able to share things about your personal life with others forms a connection with people that you never thought you would ever consider.”

Challenge Day was set up eight years ago. Mr. Benjamin and Mrs. Kennedy heard about this program and observed it at other schools. Mrs. Kennedy and Mr. Benjamin presented this idea to Mr. Spence, and developed a system that allowed them to get donations from the community and different organizations to do a fundraiser to pay for Challenge Day.

Mr. Benjamin claimed “It started with a simple phone call, but it was really became so much more.”