Student Council: Building a Bridge for Student Voices

In the hallway approaching the U-32 cafeteria, you will notice a carefully strung set of black, laminated posters. Each of these posters introduces a different custodial staff member of the school with their name, picture, and a short bio.

The Student Council “Custodial Bios” Project
The Student Council “Custodial Bios” Project

From these bios you can learn that Reina Orellana, a well known member of the day staff, “likes to cook, read, and learn more English,” and “works her hardest every day to make U-32 a better place.”

This insight into the lives of our custodial staff are the result of one Student Council project to improve school climate.

This year, the 2016-2017 Student Council welcomes nine new faces, for a full council of sixteen.

We kicked off the year with a meeting on September 1st, which was focused on introductions, elections, and the year’s overview.

“I think we have a lot of motivated members and I’m really excited about what we are going to get done this year,” said senior Ellie Stroh.

Aside from the annual events that the Council puts on, including the Blood Drives and SCOP, returning members reiterated that the group is aiming to move away from event planning to improving school climate and student voice.

The 2016-2017 Student Council Members and Advisors. * indicates new members. From left to right starting at the top: Deb Stevens, Kit Walker, Emma Curchin, Ellie Stroh, Lauren Morse, Emily Richards, Ruby Lamb, Kaitlyn Phillips*, Stephen Looke*, Libby Belitsos*, Cooper Lamb, Jesse Colnes*, Frances Kaplan*, Abby Latour, Waylon Kurtz*, Julia Oliver,* Willa Lane*, Nora Dillon*
The 2016-2017 Student Council Members and Advisors. * indicates new members. From left to right starting at the top: Deb Stevens, Kit Walker, Emma Curchin, Ellie Stroh, Lauren Morse, Emily Richards, Ruby Lamb, Kaitlyn Phillips*, Stephen Looke*, Libby Belitsos*, Cooper Lamb, Jesse Colnes*, Frances Kaplan*, Abby Latour, Waylon Kurtz*, Julia Oliver,* Willa Lane*, Nora Dillon*

While some event planning will continue, the group’s first focus in improving school climate is by helping foster participation in community service, and will continue to hold monthly community service events throughout the year.

All students are encouraged to observe meetings and bring forth issues to Student Council members. The Council meets every Wednesday morning at 7 in Kit Walker’s room, and students can also reach out by emailing studentcouncil@wcsu32.org.

What would you like to see Student Council accomplish this year?

Student Council wants to strengthen the bridge between student voices and the administration. How could we improve communication between the Council and the rest of U-32’s students?

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