On Oct 6, students enrolled in various language classes participated in the school’s first-ever GIC, or Global Issues Conference. Several students from Coppell traveled to the high school on buses where they spent the day discussing issues with our students through student-led conferences.

The students in Ms. Mallard’s Problems and Solutions class facilitated the discussion between students. Participants separated into assigned rooms based on topic and language spoken. Students were put into groups of four where they were instructed to inform other group members of the topic they had chosen to study and why others should help resolve the problem. Then, the other people in the group asked clarifying questions and provided feedback. This cycle repeated until all participants spoke.

“I was responsible for getting the lunches ready for the conference. First, I had to find a restaurant that would fit in our budget, and so I decided on Chick-Fil-A. I called them and made a catering order. Then, on the day of the GIC, some of my classmates and I went and picked up the food. I stayed in the gym to help out with the trash and handing out lunches during the rotation periods,” senior Hope McLaughlin said.

The day began in the auditorium with a presentation from keynote speaker, Laura Miller. Miller, the Dallas Mayor from 2002-2007, spoke about her project involving a solution to lessening the extreme emission of carbon dioxide from the coal plants in Texas. After the hour-long speech, students, dressed in business-casual attire, moved to their assigned classes for discussion.

Once the discussion period ended, participants headed to their assigned rotation, a series of activities including lunch, games and a community service fair. Ms. Mallard’s students served the Chick-Fil-A catered lunches in the Belle’s gym. From there, students went to their next rotation. Various community organizations set up posters and gave out flyers at the Community Service Fair held in the cafeteria. The games part of the rotation, located in the outdoor athletic facility, involved games such as Apples to Apples and Four Corners.

Unlike the morning discussion where students spoke in their second language, either Spanish or French, students spoke in English during the afternoon discussions. This time, conversation revolved around potential solutions to chosen problems. Facilitators helped to move discussion and keep participants on the right track.

The last part of the conference took place in the auditorium. Students reflected on their day and had the opportunity to go up on stage and share their experience with their peers. Overall, the GIC proved to be extremely successful. Coppell offered to host their own conference in May after their experience, inviting HP students to attend. Our school will host another conference on Feb 2.

“The conference helped me think of my issue in a different way. I listened to the opinions of others on my topic, and now I can use their advice to help create a solution to the issue. I’m excited for the conference in Feb, because by then our projects will be much more advanced and we will be able to see the progress we’ve made,” senior Caitlyn Frankel said.