This past summer the Larned Student Council (StuCo) went above and beyond, empowering students to make a difference through good old-fashioned hard work. Council members took time out of their busy summer schedules to help out around the school. The goal of their summer project was simple: impact school spirit and make Larned High School a better place for both staff and students
In a time where most students have a job and a variety of their own needs and responsibilities, someone would have to ask, “Why would a student take time out of their schedule to do labor for a school club without being paid”? Mrs. Steinlage is the StuCo class sponsor. When asked why students performed the work this summer at LHS, Steinlage said, “We just thought that seeing the hallways fresh and clean and having all of the bulletin boards have something inspirational gives you some pride in your space. I think that if you see that there is pride in your space you begin to have pride in yourself and in your school. Trying to create a culture was something the StuCo officers felt passionate about. ” Some of the things that StuCo members helped out with included cleaning up bulletin boards, updating trophy cases, washing windows throughout the school, sweeping floors, and hanging up posters for display. When questioned about what she noticed differently in the school, Leah Pinkston, a sophomore at LHS stated, “I noticed that they had changed the posters around the school to be personally laminated, which I thought looked very professional. I also saw that they put past memories from prom nights and past events inside the trophy cases. When I first saw this I was impressed by how good it looked and thought it added a nice touch to the school.”
Amazingly enough, close to twenty StuCo members showed up on their work day. Some of the students were freshmen. This was unique as many of the freshmen hadn’t ever attended a StuCo meeting. When asked about how he felt about working side by side with upperclassmen, freshman Slade Sundahl responded “I wasn’t nervous about working with upperclassmen because they all had very good behavior. All of them were really nice and they worked really well with us.”
Most people consider StuCo as a club that hosts events and helps with fundraising. With a summer project that has really seemed to have left its mark on LHS, it’s hard not to raise the question, “What is next for StuCo”? Mrs. Steinlage said “I think every school year we will try to come up with stuff to do for the building. We will also do our trick or treat for cans, we did that last year, and we will do that again coming up in October. Of course, coming up in about three weeks we have our homecoming festivities that last all week long, so that keeps Stucco members busy.” Mrs. Steinlage also mentioned the Angel Tree project that is also coming up for the holidays. She also mentioned that StuCo has a brand new and educational way to vote for the class officers.
It’s an exciting time for students to be a member of StuCo. If you as a student are interested in being a member of StuCo, Mrs. Steinlage encourages you to contact a StuCo Officer. These are Emma Thompson, Abby Holt, and Reece Watkins to discuss qualifications to become a member. For students looking for the opportunity to interact with others, develop leadership skills, and create friendships, all while making a difference becoming a StuCo member might be something to put on your to-do list. StuCo members made an obvious difference in LHS with their summer work day and we cannot wait to see what comes next!
