Girls focused on issues ranging from body image and eating disorders to setting goals and stress management.

More than 100 young teenage girls and about 60 parents gathered May 9 at Spring Forest Middle School for the first-ever Girl Power Conference, a three-hour evening program that focused on issues ranging from body image and eating disorders to setting goals and stress management.

Sponsored by the middle school and the SBISD Department of Administration, the first-time conference drew rave reviews from students, parents and school staff. The program was organized as a pilot program to engage seventh-grade girls and their mothers on challenging issues and offer positive alternatives.

Many participants recommended that the conference be expanded to a district event for all girls in middle and high schools.

SBISD Board of Trustees Member Mary Grace Landrum welcomed the girls with positive remarks. Conference keynote speaker was Spring ISD Area Superintendent Martha Zamora, who spoke about the impact of the media and peer pressure on girls.

SBISD Board of Trustees Member Mary Grace Landrum and Spring Forest Middle teacher Becky Coogan

Stephanie, a local college student and a co-presenter for a Body Image session, shared her personal struggles. The youthful audience was mesmerized by her life story and presentation. The conference included a dinner, hairstyle show and fashion session.

Martha Zamora encouraged the middle school students to realize how media tends to make young girls feel inadequate. She offered ways for girls to fight these pressures, to think positively about themselves, and to get involved with activities that build positive self-esteem.

“The Girls Conference was a tremendous endeavor for Spring Branch ISD and the first time that such an event was held,” said Sofia Petrou, district executive director for secondary administrative services.

“With such intense pressure from the media and their surroundings, girls fight everyday pressures that question their looks, thinking and personal image. The Girls Conference was an effort to educate middle school girls to be aware of the traps that can begin to unravel their self esteem and break down their confidence about who they are and what they can do to become successful teens and women,” she also said.

Several SBISD departments, including Health Fitness and Safe and Drug Free Schools joined the Girl Scouts of America, Paul Mitchell School and others to offer information and fun activities. The conference program included a dinner and hairstyle show. Pink t-shirts were given out to participants along with registration bags that included a journal, flip flops for positive steps and booklets about development topics.

Breakout sessions included “Body Wise: There is Only One You: Body Image and Eating Disorders,” “Don’t Sweat It: Stress Management,” “Friendships: The Real Deal,” and “Making Girl Powered Choices.”

Paul Mitchell sponsored hair and makeup sessions

The “Body Wise” session was one of the most popular ones. “Eating disorders, daily stress, peer pressure and the effects of the media are increasing,” Petrou said. “The responses from the girls through the evaluations were tremendous and show how this type of event can embed positive thinking in girls before they develop poor images of themselves.”

Several Spring Forest Middle staff members said that all the efforts involved in hosting the conference really paid off.

“This was a powerful event for the Spring Forest girls and their mothers and guests. There was an excellent turnout. The sessions were informative and interactive, and the evaluations showed that the girls enjoyed the sessions and gained valuable knowledge from attending,” seventh-grade counselor Susan Strait said.

Sixth-grade counselor Sandra Schneider noted that the pink t-shirts handed out during the event turned the cafeteria into a “Pink Power House” of mothers and daughters. “The Girl Power Conference was beyond our expectations,” she said. “Many of the girls were excited, told us that they loved it, and expressed a huge desire to have it again next year!”

Evaluation responses included:

This was fun. I’d like to do it again next year.

One thing I learned today is to love yourself. The best part of today was listening to Martha Zamora. Keep doing Girl Power.

Something I will do to increase my personal Girl Power is improve my inside beauty rather than trying to improve my outer beauty.

 Something that I would like to know more about is how to control my stress. I wish that I could talk to people more about my problems instead of holding them in.

 Something I would like to know more about is eating disorders. I liked being able to talk to someone who has dealt with things that I do.

 I love how you found women with similar problems with the things that we discussed and shared. The best part of today was hearing other women share their experiences.

 One thing that I learned today is to take deep breaths and to relax.

Photos by SBISD intern Kelli Trapnell.

posted 05-20-08