Nearly 70 seventh-graders from 25 schools across Tucson agreed to go to school on Saturday.
Only this time, they came to build leadership skills at the first communitywide leadership summit sponsored by St. Gregory College Preparatory School.
The students joined in team-building activities and then tested their new cohesiveness and communication skills on an outdoor ropes challenge course.
Leadership has been a focus at the school for 10 years, but with the arrival of a new headmaster in August, the decision was made to strengthen that focus and share it with other schools.
Fred Roberts, director of the school's Leadership Institute, said leadership is messy, with mistakes triggering the greatest growth.
"We put students in situations where they have to make decisions and be accountable for their actions," he said. "Taking initiative sometimes comes with risks and being uncomfortable, but we do it in a setting of both physical and emotional safety, where it's OK to make mistakes."
Karyn Synnestvedt, a 39-year-old manager, brought her 12-year-old daughter, Cassady, who attends Academy of Tucson.
"My hope is that she'll connect with other kids who are like her," she said of her daughter, who is in Girl Scouts and is already involved in student government at her school. "She has leadership qualities, but I see her holding back because she doesn't want to be seen as different. If she's with other students voicing their ideas and opinions, I think it will just have a snowballing effect."
As students arrived in the morning, they were separated into four groups, making sure no students from the same school were together.
At first, students stood awkwardly and quietly in their groups. But then came the icebreakers - a ball toss that demanded learning everyone's name, and a spin on musical chairs involving shoes that helped provide more information about team members. By the end, they were high-fiving each other over not liking entertainer Miley Cyrus or pledging to look one another up on Facebook.
For 13-year-old St. Gregory student Marcos Castillo, it was an opportunity to have fun and meet other students. He describes a good leader as someone who "is not like a tyrant. They give everybody a chance."
Juliet Saxton, a 13-year-old at Desert Christian, is already pretty vocal in her class, she said, but wanted to learn new skills. "You need someone to step up and take control or you won't get anywhere."
Contact reporter Rhonda Bodfield at rbodfield@azstarnet.com or 573-4243.
