Hoboken School's Young Leaders Impact the Mile Square With Ban the Bag Movement

The middle school students at All Saints Episcopal Day School in Hoboken were given an opportunity to go beyond the books and make a difference in the community through the school’s 7th Annual Month of the Young Adolescent (MOTYA) Leadership Summit in October.

MOTYA is an annual international collaborative effort of education, health and youth-oriented organizations. As part of this initiative, All Saints students generated ideas and worked with their teachers to find impactful ways to implore the Hoboken community to join the national Ban the Bag movement, a campaign to end single-use plastic bags. Many cities have embraced the movement, and have banned the use of plastic bags within their jurisdiction.

“MOTYA empowers students to explore an idea and create a presentation for the adult community that is thoughtful and convincing,” said Amanda Dillon, middle school teacher and MOTYA team leader. “Watching adolescents passionately research a topic, find their own voice, and share that voice with the larger community is what I love most about this month.”

The Association for Middle Level Education, an organization dedicated to advancing the education of students ages 10-15, urges schools across the country to participate in MOTYA.

Seven years ago, when the Middle School at All Saints Episcopal Day School was formed, the mayor and governor responded to the school’s request, and signed proclamations making October the Month of the Young Adolescent in both the city of Hoboken and the state of New Jersey. Each year, the All Saints Middle School honors this month and focuses on a different public service initiative.

“When I gather information about what their (middle-school students’) greatest fears are, or what their hopes are, or what their wishes are for the future -- it always amazes me how gracefully the students are able to walk that fine line between childhood and adulthood that we expect of them every day,” said Libby Vino, a middle school teacher at All Saints. “They express such adult aspirations, and yet can still admit that they are afraid of the dark.”

Students from each middle-school grade level made a presentation at Thursday’s Leadership Summit.

Fifth-graders introduced their “Letters to Our Leaders,” thanking coaches, veterinarians, doctors, the Army and the FBI for their positive leadership, and asking them to join the movement to “Ban the Bag.” Students in sixth grade read a speech they had written, stating: “For the human, animal, and environment’s sake, let’s stop the city tumbleweed from continuing its tour around the world!” Seventh-graders played a video cartoon public service announcement they had created, and those in eighth grade showed off their poetic montage about plastic bags.

Ms. Vino, who is one of the founding teachers of the Middle School at All Saints and a recipient of the New Jersey Independent School Teacher of the Year award, explained that she “loves that MOTYA gives students an opportunity to express something real and personal about themselves or what’s going on in their lives.”

Information and photo courtesy of Ronnie Loving