CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Wednesday, roughly 800 students at Great Bridge Middle School are learning what it means to empower themselves and others. School administrators brought them a new experience to get the message across: The Beautiful Tomorrow Assembly.
“Take elements of theater and combine them performance, sprinkle some hip-hop on it and infuse it with positive, motivational speaking,” said Jason Lewis, the executive director of The Beautiful Tomorrow Assembly.
It’s a presentation for students put on by Lewis.
“We decided to create an organization where we can go out, where we can encourage, we can inspire,” Lewis said.
He said it’s about pointing young people in a healthy direction.
“We speak on social-emotional learning, character development, anti-bullying, peer-to-peer encouragement, college and career readiness,” Lewis said.
It’s an interactive experience that Assistant Principal Karen Fleming said is engaging students.
“They’re going to be using some strategies that really speak to students at this age group,” Fleming said.
Fleming said this message comes at an important time for them.
“When you’re in middle school, those are some hard years," Fleming said. "So, we really want to make sure that we’re encouraging our students daily.”
Lewis hopes students will walk away feeling excited about their future.
“We live in a day and age where apathy has become the cultural norm," he said. "If we can just spark a little excitement that hey, my future is worth thinking about 10, 15 years from now, is worth planning. You know what my future goals are worth disciplining myself today for, then we get a W.”