Local News - ‘Girl Talk' teaches Mullica Township students smart choices, makeup tips

By LEE PROCIDA Staff Writer | Posted: Wednesday, May 12, 2010 | 0 comments

MULLICA TOWNSHIP - About two dozen girls from the local middle school received a lesson on how to accentuate their outer beauty Tuesday afternoon, but only after two weeks of learning about how to appreciate their inner beauty.

The annual three-week seminar for eighth-grade girls called "Girl Talk" teaches students about relationships, making healthy choices and, on Tuesday, how to apply makeup properly.

"We talk about preparing yourself to make responsible choices," said Principal Brenda Harring-Marro, who first organized the....Continue Reading

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event three years ago when she became worried about personal issues between students.

The girls sat on science lab stools as they watched cosmetic artists from the M.A.C makeup desk in the Hamilton Mall Macy's give 14-year-olds Faith Whiteman and Rachel Parsons makeovers, describing ways to apply their products without going overboard.

Jessica Ross, 21, demonstrated the proper techniques on Whiteman, and said a similar event would have been helpful for her and her peers when she first went to Southern Regional High School as a student from Stafford Township.

"It's definitely important," she said, since the jump from eighth-grade to high school means intermingling with students who are advancing into college and have different relationship expectations.

The students said they loved the program because it gave them an opportunity to get answers to questions they had.

"You kind of already see some girls going down the wrong path," said Mercina Stefanski, 15, who asked questions about how to apply makeup based on things she had heard, such as advice from celebrity Kim Kardashian.

Harring-Marro said 28 of the school's 45 eighth-grade girls signed up for the after-school sessions, and that they were the most enthusiastic group yet, having seen students older than them go through it in previous years.

Several said they wished they could do it throughout the school year, and jumped at Harring-Marro's offer to do yoga after school in upcoming weeks now that the "Girl Talk" events are over.

Harring-Marro offered her own advice and experiences during the events, which turned out to be like a bonding experience between the school's administrator and the students.

"I wanted them to see that I'm human, and I've been through some of the things that they're about to go through" such as trying to fit in and worrying about trying to be something they are not, she said.

Some of the girls said they were just now thinking about things such as how to apply makeup, while it was clear they are starting to get engrossed in relationships as they chatted and gossiped about boys.

Harring-Marro said the event served as a bonding experience among the girls as well, since they would need each other to help avoid potentially corrupting peer pressure in the years to come.

"OK, what do you guys think?" Ross asked as she finished Whiteman's makeover.

The girls cheered and clapped, exclaiming, "You look great, Faith!"

After peeking in a mirror, Whiteman agreed.

"I was like, ‘Wow, I can look like that?'" she said.

Contact Lee Procida:   609-457-8707   LProcida@pressofac.com

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