Suffern students learn 'Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens' at leadership program

Suffern Middle School has implemented an SEL program called Leader in Me, which incorporates the "Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens" into lessons and class curriculum, teaching students ways to be successful and develop leadership.

Once a month, the school runs a Leadership Academy hour for students to work on the habit of the month in their classrooms.  Physical education teacher Gabby Somma, left, gives the instructions to sixth-grade students at Suffern Middle School.

The sixth-graders worked in groups March 21 to accomplish the sixth step in "Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens," which is Synergize.

The goal is to build a hoop structure and protect it from being knocked down. This habit encourages recognizing that everyone can bring something to the table that might be helpful to accomplishing a goal, and that we might be faced with tasks in life where we need to synergize all of our strengths to be successful.

Tiernan Foley and Larry Moran serve a portion of the snack mix their group created during the Leadership Academy on March 21.

The program has been at Suffern Middle School for about four years, according to principal Andrew Trust. "Our goal is for our students to develop leadership skills for the 21st Century and to develop strategies in their own personal lives so that they can be better global citizens," Trust said.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Suffern middle schoolers learning leadership skills in monthly academy