Southdown Primary School student council members are learning all about leading and serving the classmates they represent. It’s been a great experience for the youngsters.
Third graders Harrison Jennings, Jack McLaughlin, Aubree Kuhn, Abigail Jessie, Nina Altarac and Emily McCarthy have been elected class representatives.
“All of the students who gave speeches did such an incredible job stating their case for this important leadership role within the school,” Southdown Principal Scott Oshrin said. “It takes a lot of courage to stand up in front of your peers at such a young age. These children are commended for wanting to make a positive impact as leaders in their community.”
The class representatives rotate between meeting with Mr. Oshrin and their teachers on a monthly basis. “I meet with the kids once a month and we enjoy lunch together,” the principal said. “They suggest different ideas and activities that we can do to make the school a better place. One idea that came from the group was to clean up Gold Star Beach the weekend before we go to Beach Day. They also plan out various school spirit days. My favorite was dress as your future self. There were many fun and creative ideas on full display.”
The class representatives also model appropriate at Southdown’s monthly Splash Assemblies led by teacher Pamela Schwarting. “This is truly an incredible group of boys and girls,” Mr. Oshrin said.
According to the Learning Community, an online parent resource website, student council organizations provide youngsters with numerous benefits, including:
- The opportunity to participate in decisions that affect them; Students that feel they have a say in school rules, policies and operations are more likely to cooperate and encourage other students to do so as well.
- The ability to understand more about the democratic process; Democracy is one of our country's founding principles. What better way for students to understand the process than to directly participate in it?
- The chance to learn important leadership skills; Colleges and jobs are increasingly looking for candidates with strong leadership skills. Get your child involved early so that these skills are well developed before they reach high school.