M'town High School North hosts 'Girls Night Out' MELISSA L. GAFFNEY, Staff Writer,The Courier, May 8 Posted:05/09/08
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Women celebrated something special on Wednesday, April 30: themselves.
Middletown High School North hosted its second annual Girls’ Night Out, a free night of workshops, activities and socializing designed for women.
Principal Dr. Patricia Van-Cartier said this year’s theme was “Achieve,” standing for: aspire, cope, heal, innovate, empower, voice and energize.
“We wanted to embellish last year’s theme of ‘Dream,’” she said. “Whenever we dream, we aspire to improve our bodies, minds and spirits. When we rely on our personal beliefs, behaviors, skills and attitudes, we can achieve our goals.”
Van-Cartier said Girls’ Night Out is meant to promote the feeling of fellowship among women. “This is really about women celebrating women,” she said.
Van-Cartier said the inspiration for Girls’ Night Out came from her daughter’s alma mater, where she attended the event. “I wanted to bring it to Middletown so we could have our very own,” she explained.
While Van-Cartier said this year’s theme expanded upon last year’s, she also said it grew in size and variety. Van-Cartier said there were seven workshops, henna hand painting, opportunities for mother/daughter pictures, a disc jockey and food, as well as 50 giveaways.
Other activities included self-defense, peace building, Irish step dancing, swing dancing, origami, body sculpting, salsa dancing, yoga, jewelry making and photography. "The best part of the event is its cost," Van-Cartier said. “It’s all free.”
Van-Cartier said the female teachers of Middletown High School North prepared for the event by pooling their resources and working together to create the program. “What was nice was that I worked with women from all departments,” she said. “Everyone brings their own talents to the table,” Ranger said.
Television production teacher Linda Ranger said her class created a video about the firsts in women’s achievements. “The video highlights the first mayor, presidential candidate, which was not Mrs. Clinton, and the first woman who invented a machine that cleaned and cured corn, to name a few."
Barbara Christopher, who teaches English, said the home economics classes baked treats for the event. Christopher also noted the event has been in the works since about February. “This is something wonderful that celebrates achieving and inspiring,” she said. “It also helps young women develop leadership skills.”
Rosina Racioppi, president and chief operating officer of WOMEN Unlimited, Inc., New York City, said she runs an organization that works with Fortune 500 companies to develop their high potential women.
Racioppi said she wanted to present at Girls’ Night Out because the bond of womanhood should always be sustained. “For me, I work with a lot of women at various stages of their development,” she said. “The philosophy is ‘pay it forward.’ Young women need to understand how to best leverage their strengths for success.”
Lisa Liscoe, her daughters, Tara, 16, and Brittany, 11, and her mom, Magdalin Napolitano, attended Girls’ Night Out for many reasons, one of which Liscoe said was because they came last year. “We had a good time last year,” she said. “It’s a great event, especially when all three generations can celebrate women together.”
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