20 Feb How our Saturday Programs Honor R.O.C.K.’s Four Virtues (Love, Respect, Courage and Self-Control)

How our Saturday Programs Honor R.O.C.K.’s Four Virtues (Love, Respect Courage and Self-Control)
By Jenna Watanabe, Marketing & Development Coordinator

Each newsletter, we like to highlight the ways some of our awesome programs are helping kids uphold their commitments to R.O.C.K.’s four virtues: love, respect, courage and self-control. As we watch our kids grow, we witness the way they honor such values in all kinds of situations and today, we want to share with you a snapshot of what that looks like in our high school and middle school programs.

High School Leadership Group
Virtues honored: Love and Respect
Over MLK weekend, Corinne Wong, our High School Coordinator, noticed many different ways the High School Leadership group honored the virtues of love and respect at their snowy retreat near Tahoe.

RESPECT: Along with staff and 3 volunteers, 18 high-schoolers stayed in close quarters and maintained respect for each other’s personal space and schedules. Together, they handled each task as an opportunity to grow as a team—as it was all hands on deck for every task—whether it came to cooking meals, cleaning up or preparations to go play in the snow.

LOVE: On the first night, one of the students sat down at a piano and started playing, and everyone immediately started singing together, harmonizing with each other in song. That harmony extended throughout the entire weekend, the upper class welcomed brand new freshmen to R.O.C.K. with open arms and everyone got along for the duration of the trip.

SALT (Student Adult Leadership Training)
Virtues honored: Courage and Self-Control
Our middle schoolers had a great time this winter session, visiting Church of 8 Wheels for roller-skating, indoor R.O.C.K. climbing, and catching air at the trampoline park. As R.O.C.K. continues to find ways to broaden their horizons, our staff leads, Delia Orellana and Yuri Ugarte saw two virtues being honored on one particular weekend at the Rockin’ Jump trampoline park.

COURAGE: Climbing a R.O.C.K. wall can be intimidating for anyone—especially for a teenager who has never climbed one before. That’s why the virtue of courage showed up in full force when most of the middle schoolers scaled the wall without flinching.

SELF-CONTROL: In addition to the fun stuff, there was also a lot of self-control from the group as there was a significant amount of waiting in line while dealing with the anxiety of being surrounded by strangers. Regardless of the slightly stressful situation, the kids remained patient and cooperative, and were that much more excited when the fun stuff began!

Want to volunteer with R.O.C.K. for one of our Saturday programs like these? Click here to email Jenna for a list of volunteer opportunities.