Junior Romance Academy
In January 2010 we introduced a group of 2nd years (all boys) to the romance academy project with 4 weeks of discussion and 1 week of film and fun. The fellas loved the sessions and seriously would be up for extending the programme.
A big thank you to the volunteers who made the project possible – you were amazing and added life to each evening!
Our group of 8 2nd years boys were able to attend JIMS each Wednesday night without any 1st or 3rd years…which was different than what they were used to in JIMS programmes. During each week, we discussed life issues such as: peer pressure, relationships, and family. Most evenings we had older high school students who have previously done the full Romance Academy at JIMS – these voices encouraged, challenged, and excited the participants to think about their actions and words in relation to their lives.
Of course we also had a bit of fun with games and food each night. The boys were able to share in plenty of laughs throughout the course…mostly thanks to Dave McIlveen.
According to the boys, one of the that the remember the most is what and how to ‘platonically’ love each other. This term was explained in conjunction with our challenge to discover one another’s love languages and fill up our friends’ love tanks. As a leader, I was truly encouraged by the fact the the boys attempted to live out love to someone in their lives (a friend or family member) throughout the week and shared with us the experience – they were able to interact with the material of love even though they were boys.