Lexy: Good evening board members and meeting attendees. We are very excited to announce we had our student luncheons at the middle schools this month! However, before we discuss that, we'd like to share some events and news from this month.
Liliana: To start, we would like to congratulate Ella Albright, Kyle Reigner, and Ryan Schatz on being recognized as Commended Students in the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program! We are proud of their accomplishments and can't wait to see what they accomplish.
Lexy: We are happy to announce that the seniors won the 2023 Powder Puff football game, although the juniors didn't go down without a fight! It was a close call all game. Thank you to all the players, coaches, cheerleaders, and staff who helped make the game one to remember!
Liliana: The Class of 2026 facilitated a food drive to benefit Preston's Pantry this month. Each homeroom at BASH was encouraged to bring in goods to donate. With the school's help, they were able to collect a total of 1,400 items for donation.
Lexy: Two weeks ago, Liliana and I traveled to the middle schools to do a luncheon. We asked some general questions since this was our first luncheon of the year, but we allowed the students to take the conversation to topics they wanted to discuss while still being moderated by Liliana and me. We first asked how they felt their classes were going so far to start with a general overview. They had a lot of positive things to say about their teachers and how they felt respected by them. They felt they could talk to many of them if they had issues. There was only one concern regarding different learning styles; we will discuss this further with the administration.
Liliana: As well as excellent student-teacher relationships, students also pointed out their access to various clubs. We heard many positive comments on Youth and Government and TSA, as well as a shout-out to both middle school libraries for creating engaging opportunities for kids to get involved in a new craft or hobby. Some students presented concerns about awareness of students with disabilities in hallways and transition periods but also discussed how specific buddy programs provided education and developed awareness of understanding each other's differences.
We also discussed the Reach program in the middle school and heard some student opinions on Smart Futures. Many students requested more job-related activities, such as building a resume and filing for working papers. Students also appreciated some of the tough topics Reach covers and are grateful to learn about real-world topics.
Lexy: We understand that it's the beginning of the year, and there will be more to come on high school transitioning, but we want to ensure that the students get as much information as possible about it. Specifically, many students had no idea what our reference to AP classes was, which is understandable, as there are still quite a few months before they have to decide whether they want to venture into that realm. However, they wanted us to pass along that they want as much information as possible about these classes because many students want to take them but are unsure where to start. So, if we could touch upon these topics closer to course selection, that would be great!
Liliana: We would like to thank Mrs. Dombrowski and Dr. Maoury for allowing us to visit and all of the students who participated for sharing their ideas and opinions. We can't wait to hear from various student voices as the year continues.
Lexy: Thank you board members and meeting attendees for listening to our report tonight. Have a great night!
