​MANAAJITOON CREW

A group of Bayfield High School students are trying to change the attitudes, raise awareness and teach their peers the dynamics of teen dating violence, sexual assault and healthy relationships. The project is looked over by New Day Shelter Children's Program Coordinator, Corinne Bigboy and Bayfield High School Guidance Counselor, Nancy Larson. The project is funded by the Grutzner Madeline Island Fund, an affiliate of the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation. 

In past years the Manaajitoon Crew have attended various workshops including

• "Drummin' it Up!" where students experienced the healing rhythms of the drums by playing in a drum circle and discovered music's unending power by joining several music based activities to uncover a new understanding of the diverse uses of music. 
• "The Ties of the Media Lines," a student led, hands-on discussion about how media affects us. Talking about how body impage, self-esteem, sexuality, violence, and relationships are expressed in television, music, magazines, videos and commercials. 
• "Sexting vs. Texting: When having fun turns dangerous," in which participants learned about the pressures each other are facing along with the consequences they could face for sending dangerous texts or photos. Participants learned and discussed solutions to these dangerous requests and left feeling empowered to do the right thing. 
• Attended and performed at the 2014 Teen Summit on Healthy Relationships at teh Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells. The skit, "Know!" intertwined the lives of high school students dealing with difficult teen dating violence issues. The teen summit is an event held every year that brings together a diverse group of teens and adults to talk and learn about creating healthy teen relationships and preventing teen dating abuse, sexual assault and coercion. 
• February is teen dating violence awareness month. For the 2015 year, the Manaajitoon Crew has an entire month of activities planned. Some of these activities include; a teen dating violence information booth, Kiss 4 Consent booth, Wear ORANGE Day, I Pledge banner and "Love Is" art display. Each activity was done in the cafeteria area, in hopes to bring awareness to the student body. 

MAKING A DIFFERENCE...

The Manaajitoon Crew works together to try and create a stronger community, student body and school by preventing violence among youth. Through peer outreach, these students learn about the dynamics of teen dating violence and sexual assault. They then take the information that they learned to their classmates, in order to change the attitudes that lead to violence and create a violence free future for their community and future generations. They would like everyone to expect respect.