A new generation of leaders at Eldred high school

GRIFFIN MAJOR
Posted 8/21/12

The student council at the Eldred Junior-Senior High School has become extremely involved in the day-to-day workings of the school, changing the way the school functions. From its founding in 2013, …

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A new generation of leaders at Eldred high school

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The student council at the Eldred Junior-Senior High School has become extremely involved in the day-to-day workings of the school, changing the way the school functions. From its founding in 2013, it has provided leadership by organizing meetings and engaging in student and community issues and volunteer work, as well as by the members simply being good citizens and role models.

It is only student council’s third year of its existence, and during that time it has made a determined effort to improve the overall experience for Eldred’s students in a way that hasn’t been seen for a long time. This year, the council has sought to reinvigorate school spirit and pride in Eldred’s high school.

In pursuit of this goal, members Samantha Laput, Helen Sherwood, Kassandra Weatherly and Griffin Major scheduled a visit to Port Jervis High School in December to interact with and learn from their peers in student government there. Port Jervis has succeeded in generating a high level of pride in its school among faculty and students, and the goal of the Eldred student council was to find out how they have done that. Council members were privileged to ask Port Jervis students questions, take notes and look into all of the factors that play into Port Jervis’s success.

In order to foster a sense of pride and community following that visit, the council has begun mural painting, distributed awards to outstanding students, and has increased involvement in the community through volunteer work and projects. The momentum that has been generated from bringing these small—but effective—changes back to Eldred from Port Jervis has paved the way for many other achievements. Aside from acting as a liaison bringing student concerns to the faculty and administration, the council has taken part in the Eldred Hall of Fame nominations, assisted in the reinstatement of the senior-seventh grade mentor program, proposed new code-of-conduct amendments, and continued to inform the public at board of education meetings via up-to-date reports about its activities.

The main reason the student council has been so successful is the quality of its members, who are a vastly diverse group of students. All of the students in the council also participate in many different academic programs, groups, clubs and athletics at the school. Some of these are the Fishing Club, National Honor Society, Interact Club, STEM, and college and AP courses, among many others. Although the diversity can lead to some heated but well-thought-out debates at student council meetings, each and every member offers an intelligent and unique perspective that makes for informed and educated decision making during the meetings. Different perspectives allow for more representation and a better informed way of thinking.

As a result of all of these achievements, the council has been invited to attend a conference in April at Somers High School in Lincolndale, NY. This trip will allow some of the student council’s members to attend, learn and hone leadership skills. This will also be great opportunity for some of the members who look to pursue leadership opportunities outside of school.

When it first began in 2013, the council did not even have full membership and was poorly attended. At the time of that rather disorganized founding, one would scarcely have predicted the impressive accomplishments the group actually achieved in only three years. But since then, the program and the student leaders have grown and blossomed into a fully functional and successful group.

This year’s members are ninth-grade representatives Patrick Kinney, Hannah Mayr and Brianna Terry; 10th-grade representatives Julia Foster, Joseph Potter and Kassandra Weatherly; 11-grade representatives Samantha Laput (secretary), Catherine Nicholson (treasurer) and Helen Sherwood (vice president); and 12th-grade representatives Julia Kehrley, Griffin Major (president) and Melissa McMonagle. They should all be very proud of how much the student council has grown and how influential it has become in the school, and overall in the community.

[Griffin Major is president of the student council at Eldred Junior-Senior High School, the senior class and the band.]

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