“I think school spirit is so important in morale and team building. Enthusiasm in general is just fun to be around,” Ninth grade English teacher and student council advisor, Helen Brubaker said.
It is insanely difficult to lead functional events for large groups of teenagers, but our school never fails to deliver. Behind the scenes, making it all happen is the Student Council, getting things in order seamlessly.
Big events like semi-formal take a while to plan, Brubaker said that they prep almost an entire year in advance. This requires designing props that fit the theme, figuring out how the layout will work, and deciding what food they will be serving.
The amount of hard work and dedication that these students and staff put in often goes without appreciation, but they love it regardless.
Many students may not realize the extent that student council does for the school. It’s not only getting ready for the dances and spirit weeks, they are also in charge of representing the student body, and making decisions that will benefit the majority of their classmates.
“It forces you to be comfortable working with others and at meetings we practice voting, public speaking, and making choices that don’t always have the best solution.” Sophomore Paityn Lackland and student council member said about this extracurricular preparing students for future leadership roles.
One of the things the student council is responsible for is hanging up seasonal decorations in the school commons. This requires hours of effort and often ends with everyone exhausted, but it totally pays off in the end.
Throughout the interview, Brubaker was instructing students on where to find different materials, and gave her trust in their creative processes so they could all have a part in designing the layout.
While some students were working on bringing supplies from their storage closets, others were on ladders hanging decorations up.
They worked tirelessly to make sure the space looked good, even blowing up some inflatable pieces and incorporating strings that looked like a spider web.
High school can be a complicated time for many students, as they try to balance school work, extracurricular activities, and also somehow maintain a social life. While some kids may feel nervous about attending school events like football games or dances, in actuality, they can end up being a lot of fun.
“Find one person to say, let’s go to the football game together. And you do not have to dress up for the theme. Just throw on a Carroll blue shirt.” Brubaker said.
This applies to all school events, not just football. With the school being so big, sports teams and other clubs that the school has to offer vary widely. Ideally, students will take this into account and branch out to try something different.
One of the things that is definitely worth considering is the student council. A lot of students involved really love their experience being on the team.
“ I love all the decorations we put up for homecoming, holidays, and seasons in the commons. It’s very rewarding to hear your peers talking about how much they like the decorations and know you were a part of it,” Lackland said.
