LVC Griffins learn about leadership through student council

Elementary students are developing leadership skills, gaining confidence and learning about school processes with the new Student Council at Lake View Campus. 

LVC Principal Lee Kyler decided he wanted his students to have a student council this year because he’s a big believer in shared ownership and shared decision making. 

He asked teachers to recommend students from their homeroom to join the council. For grades 4-5, homeroom teachers recommended two students, and one student was chosen from each homeroom in grades 2 and 3. The younger cohort doesn’t have a vote and only observes meetings, while the older students are each given a vote to make decisions. 

When he first gathered the council, Mr. Kyler asked the students what they would like to focus on. They came up with three priorities: the cafeteria, the playground, and supporting the school’s PBIS efforts. At that first meeting, Zoe Glanda was voted president of the council, and Daniel DiBartolomeo was voted vice president. 

Students said that being a part of the Student Council made them feel proud and important. They said they feel mature when given the chance to help make decisions, advise adults, and find ways to compromise.

Student Council work so far

With the cafeteria, the council was hoping to explore some additional options for school breakfasts and lunches. They met with Cook Manager Stevi McCann and then School Lunch Manager Julie Holbrook to request some new food and drink items be added to cafeteria menus. They talked about all that goes into making decisions about feeding students, from nutrition needs – protein and fresh veggies and fruits help students’ brains work at their best – to the resources involved, like the availability of ingredients and the amount of time it will take staff to prepare, cook and serve. In the end, they compromised, with the students seeing some of their requests approved – notably, Tillie Kullman and Levi Worrell had the idea to ask for poutine, and that’s now an option added to the mix for school lunches. Everyone on the Student Council was excited about this success. 

Ms. Holbrook was excited about the opportunity to meet with students, and she said it was nice to see young students so engaged and interested in learning. 

The council has also been working with Jason Fiegl on plans for the playground. They gave him some ideas, and he helped them talk through what options wouldn’t be doable and which ones might be possible. 

The school is holding monthly Positive Behavior Interventions and Support assemblies this year, and student council members have started helping out with those in various ways. At the last assembly, they put on a skit to encourage students to think about empathy in which Kayson Simpson played a kid who got bullied because he kept carrots in his pocket to snack on. Then Adelyn Drummond and Lucy Wilson told the students gathered about iReady testing. Student Council members are also using the assembly to give updates to their classmates about what they’ve been working on. 

Spreading out the experience

Members of Student Council have attended Board of Education meetings to give updates about what they’ve been working on, and Mr. Kyler expects these updates to continue regularly throughout the school year. 

Mr. Kyler spreads out the work, making sure each member of the council gets to try out various tasks like public speaking, meeting with adults, and getting creative.