Jeffrey J. Marsden, Superintendent
459 Main St., Unit 3,
Medfield, MA 02052
For Immediate Release
Monday, April 8, 2019
Media Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-428-3299
Email: ben@jgpr.net
Medfield High School Hosts ‘One Love’ Event on Maintaining Healthy Relationships
MEDFIELD — Principal Robert Parga and district Director of Social and Emotional Learning David Worthley are pleased to announce that the One Love Foundation recently visited Medfield High School and gave an in-depth presentation to seniors about understanding the difference between healthy and unhealthy relationships.
On Tuesday, April 2, all Medfield High School seniors attended a video presentation by the One Love Foundation and then broke into small discussion groups led by student facilitators.
“In a few months our seniors will no longer be walking the halls of Medfield High School and many will find themselves away from home at college or in the workforce,” Worthley said. “As they venture off on their own, some will soon begin new relationships. We want all of our graduating seniors to know how to build a healthy relationship, how to get out of relationships that aren’t working and how to identify unhealthy behaviors. One Love’s presentation does a great job of teaching those important skills to young adults.”
Founded in 2010, the One Love Foundation works to educate people about how to maintain healthy relationships, while teaching them about the signs of unhealthy relationships that they or their friends and loved ones may be in.
The week before the presentation, a One Love staffer came to speak with 32 MHS seniors to train them to be group facilitators. The group facilitators were taught how to lead the discussion with their peers following the video presentation. They were taught what warning signs to look out for and how to help someone who may be in an unhealthy relationship.
The 40-minute video, shown to the approximately 190 students in the senior class, follows the story of a girl in college who is in a relationship with her boyfriend. The girl’s friends and family members present her with warning signs that she is in a bad relationship. Sadly, the girl ignores the signs and her abusive boyfriend later kills her.
After the video, the students broke out into the group discussions led by the student facilitators.
“The group discussions really resonated with the students because they were able to candidly talk about these issues among their peers,” Principal Parga said. “I want to commend the students for their maturity in dealing with this serious topic and hopefully they all took away the fact that there is help available if you find yourself in a bad relationship.”
Some warning signs of an unhealthy relationship include:
- An imbalance of power in the relationship, a feeling of ownership and having one partner isolate the other partner from their friends and family
- A partner who is controlling in general. Tries to control who their partner talks to, where they go, who they’re friends with, etc.
- Physical or verbal abuse
- On again, off again relationships
How to help a friend in an unhealthy relationship:
- Be supportive
- Talk to your friend or loved one
- Focus the discussion on the unhealthy behaviors
- Don’t place blame on the friend or loved one
- Offer solutions and help in the future
For more information, visit the One Love Foundation’s website here.
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