Last week students at Hoover High School participated in Project Mosaic.

Officials say 90 students in grades 9-12 participated in the event where the theme centered around building resiliency.

Hoover Counselor Annie Moore coordinated the event with help from other staff members and a student planning team of 23.

Organizers explained that the program, which has been in existence for over ten years, brought students together to consider and address issues that are very real for high school students.

Mrs. Moore explained the thought behind this year’s program: “This year’s theme of ‘Listen to Understand, Not Reply’ aimed to help students develop a deeper understanding of resiliency, and how it applies to their own life story. Building resiliency skills, hearing stories of how other people have overcome challenges and learning to accept, and support resiliency in others, were also key topics of discussion,” explained Moore.

“With each passing year, the need for Emotional Intelligence education and resiliency training grows even more evident,” she added. “North Canton, once home to the Hoover Company and a fairly affluent district has seen an increase in poverty in the past ten years, which is unparalleled. Many of our students and their families, struggle to handle the increased stress that daily living produces and many rely on the twentieth century coping skills to combat twenty-first-century stressors.”

Moore also noted, “My plan to focus on Emotional Intelligence (EQ) and resiliency skills stems from the daily need that I see presented in my role as a school counselor. While it may seem as a divergence from Project MOSAIC’s original goal of teaching inclusion and acceptance, I see EQ and resiliency training as going hand-in-hand with Project MOSAIC founder, Angela Smith’s original mission when she brought the idea to Hoover High School eleven years ago.”

Michaela Madison Reporting