ARTICLE BY DAVIDE HUTTON | SASKATOON STAR PHOENIX | FEBRUARY 7, 2009

When they first met, the 24 girls would barely look at each other. Sitting around a long wooden table in the wellness room on the second floor of Bedford Road Collegiate, they wouldn’t talk, let alone discuss the tough emotional issues they face every day.

The rumours. The gossip. The bullying. The silent fights and exclusion that so often sit below the surface, permeating so many relationships among teenage girls. “The littlest thing can turn into such a big thing,” said Ashley Englund-Clewes, 16, defining what makes high school a complex place for teenagers. “Girl drama gets carried away and it goes too far.”

At that meeting in November, most of the group had shown up to the No More Drama program at Bedford Road with skepticism, while others had been holding long grudges over minor things with girls sitting directly across from them. “It was pretty tense,” recalls Chandra Rink, 16. “But as we got used to each other, we realized that we’re the same kind of people. We just have different opinions and that’s OK.”

The transformation — from drama queens to conflict managers — is thanks to a unique program, designed by Winston Blake, 38, the restorative justice worker at Bedford Road.

READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE (PDF)

‍