Southdown Primary School Student Council members are learning all about good government and public service. It’s a quintessential education into the American notion that the role of government in a free society is to serve the people, not rule them.
Southdown students elected Vincent Pupillo (president), Riley Uvena (vice president) and Lexie Balm (secretary) to serve as school-wide executive board members. Teachers Lynn Hefele and Pamela Schwarting are serving as faculty advisors.
Fourth grade volunteer class representatives include Frankie Algieri, Kennedy Banner, Kiley Barch, Katelyn Castillo, Sage Cicciari, Daniella DelPonte, Jack Kamenstein, Olivia Kaufman, Kyra Larsen, Christian Luca, Mia Miller, Emma Polinsky, Dana Saramago, Louisa Skrobela and Joanna Villalta Vilorio.
Elected third grade class representatives include Alexandra Boeckmann, Madyn Kalb, Jack Steinberg and Josue Villatoro Bonilla.
The organization meets once a month before school and once a month during lunch periods.
The student leaders are busy pursuing several initiatives, including the Take Care Project. The group pledged to take care of their bodies, the environment and their community by drinking more water, collecting and recycling water bottles and contributing monies garnered from the bottle returns to Ronald McDonald House in honor of a Huntington teacher’s son who is currently battling bone cancer.
Southdown Student Council members are also performing skits at monthly Splash assemblies that demonstrate a targeted behavior, including kindness to others, group acceptance, walking safely throughout the building, etc.
The leaders have helped create and plan special spirit days at the school and also helped coordinate recess period challenges, including competitions to provide classmates with fun and engaging activities.
Student Council reps have even shared instructions and showed videos during recess to peers interested in a cup stacking challenge, kindness mural contest, origami, Uno competition and hula hooping challenge.
The young leaders have furthered communication in the building by making morning announcements to inform students about current initiatives and they’ve created posters to advertise upcoming events.
One of the most popular activities has been the buddy class program where officers and reps visit their assigned “buddy class” to speak about upcoming activities.
Southdown Principal Scott Oshrin is pleased with the energy and enthusiasm of this year’s executive board members and class reps and believes “they are acquiring valuable leadership skills as they go about serving members of the school community.”