Students from Christ-King School in Stettler and Mother Teresa School in Halkirk joined students at St. Theresetta School for several fun-filled days of activity with Catholic Youth Leadership Program (CYLP) out of Lloydminster.
The group of teenagers from Lloydminster set up base at the Castor school and over several days led a special mass and held various leadership boosting activities all centered around the Catholic faith.
On Monday, May 5, students from all three schools gathered in the St. Theresetta gymnasium for a special dark-light concert, group activities, and music concert presented by the leadership group.
Students in the Lloydminster group mixed up the afternoon with skits, musical performances, dark-light performances and group activities.
At one point, groups of students – mixed groups from all three schools – stood up and performed a special cheer they had designed for their group. There were a lot of stomping feet, clapping hands, and smiling faces throughout the whole process.
Twenty-one-year-old Robyn Powers is the coach with CYLP, but he started himself as a teenaged member of the group.
“I’ve been involved since Grade 8,” he said. “One of my friends got me involved and I just kept going.”
Now, he travels with the group, sometimes putting in three or four shows in a matter of a few days. The routine can be exhausting, but it’s worth it, he said.
“My favourite part is the music, because I’m a musical guy,” he said. “But when you have the kids there, the younger ones, and you go out and perform and you see the smiles growing, that’s the best.”
This year’s program is called “Through the Storm: Finding comfort in the love of God” and focuses on teaching youth strategies for making positive choices.
The rock band played while the gymnasium lights were out, and CYLP members, dressed in black, used glowsticks to write out messages.
At one point, a girl in a white dress danced a flowing routine, illuminated by the black lights that made certain aspects of the performance glow.
Grade 5 student Ryleigh Bunbury, who attends St. Theresetta, was sad when the events ended on Monday afternoon.
“It was awesome,” she said. “The dancing, how they put it all together with the black lights, was really neat.”