Registration

The Chester, Deep River, Essex and Region 4 Schools and Tri-Town Youth Services are pleased to present an evening with Scarlett Lewis, Founder of the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement and recipient of the International Forgiveness Award, the Live Your Legacy Award and the Common Ground Award for her advocacy work for peace and forgiveness. Scarlett will speak at John Winthrop Middle School Auditorium on Monday, February 25 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.  This event is open to the entire community, including young people ages twelve and up. The major theme of the evening will be “We can’t always choose what happens to us, but we can always choose how we respond.”

Scarlett Lewis founded the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement following the tragic murder of her six year old son Jesse at Sandy Hook Elementary School in one of the worst school shootings in US history. After her son’s death, Scarlett found a message he left on their kitchen chalkboard that read, Nurturing Healing Love. Not only did this message guide her personal journey through grief- which she chronicles in her book by the same name- but it became the founding principles for a social emotional learning program that is positively impacting communities around the world.

In our little corner of the world, Deep River Elementary School proudly launched the Choose Love school-based social emotional learning curriculum this year, and Chester Elementary School will be implementing the program next year.  Children are learning that Courage + Gratitude + Forgiveness + Compassion in Action = Choosing Love and they are applying these principles to their daily lives and interactions with peers, teachers and family members.