Rita ’13, Rachel ’14, Isabella ’13, Janette ’13, Ariela ’13 and Mikaela ’13 participate in a writing activity during Face-It VII. Photo by SOMEONE

48 Upper schoolers attended Face-It VII, Marlborough’s seventh annual diversity retreat, to discuss social issues including appearance and body image, from 8 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 21 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 22.

With attendance up from last year by twenty students, this year’s Face-It was seen as a great success in terms of student participation, according to Director of Admissions Jeanette Woo Chitjian. This increase was due in part to a School-wide advertising campaign that included announcements via digital signage, e-mail, Haiku and class meetings.

Woo Chitjian headed the student planning committee with Diane Flinn, a facilitator from the National Conference for Community and Justice who has led every Face-It at Marlborough since its inception. The planning committee was comprised of both girls who had previously attended Face-It as well as some students from the Class of 2015 who had not yet attended but wished to be involved.

Students were required to commit to all 31 hours of the retreat, which entailed missing class on Friday. Although this was a major factor in some students’ decisions not to attend Face-It, those who did attend said teachers were very understanding and accommodating in terms of giving students extra time to make up missed work. “I wouldn’t have missed it. I learned a lot about people and myself,” first-time attendee Lauren ’15 said.

Students spent the night at School and chose between sleeping in the ARC, the Collins Room, and the Senior Living Room. Some girls were so excited by the topics they had explored during activities that they used the downtime in which they were supposed to be sleeping to continue their discussions. “We had really great conversations about really personal issues. It was great but we didn’t go to sleep until one in the morning!”  Lauren ’15 said.