Showing posts with label student government. Show all posts
Showing posts with label student government. Show all posts

Thursday, May 25, 2017

What I Want To Remember

Last week our principal took me and all of the SBOs to lunch at Little America, as he does every year, and it was a lovely afternoon.  It is always nice to be able to leave school for a few hours and go downtown for lunch at a fancy restaurant (the food at Little America is fabulous, especially the desserts).  Our principal had the officers talk about their favorite memories and that made me really happy.  We have had quite a bit of drama in student government this year and I've been feeling a bit negative about the year.  I'm glad I had the chance to be reminded of all of the good things that happened this year.  These are the things I want to remember.

Friday, April 21, 2017

I Will Miss Them

This week my current student body officers have been conducting the election for the 2017-2018 officers.  The students who are running for office are absolutely stellar and this has been the easiest election I've ever done.  No drama!  I have to admit that there was a moment when I wondered if I should stay on as the advisor because I know this group will be fun to work with.  But I have thought long and hard about the decision to give up all of my extracurricular activities and I know it is the right one.  I need time for the people and things that are important to me because, at the end of the day, what I do, while rewarding, is just a job and it shouldn't consume all of my time and energy.  I am really proud of what my officers have accomplished this year (go here and here) and I will definitely miss them but I am really looking forward to a year with less stress.

Note:  One of the things I had to consider very carefully in making this decision is the fact that I would make less money.  I came to the determination that my happiness was ultimately more important.  However, there is currently a huge teacher shortage in the state of Utah and the school district that I work for has decided to significantly increase teacher salaries in the hopes of attracting more candidates to fill all of the openings next year.  Even after giving up all of my extracurricular activities, I will still make more money next year because of this raise!

Saturday, March 18, 2017

Spirit Week 2017

Last year, my officers took Spirit Week to a whole new level so, of course, the current officers were determined to outdo it this year!  Each class chose a different video game (the seniors were Mario, the juniors were Pokemon, the sophomores were Pac Man, and the freshmen were Sonic) as their theme and each class was assigned a hall to decorate around their theme.  The officers started making the decorations over a month ago and we have had many long nights at school (and even a Saturday).  I can't believe how elaborate their decorations were this year because it looked like you were in the middle of the game as you walked down each hall.  I definitely have some very talented artists in my group!  The reaction from the faculty and student body was very enthusiastic!  I especially loved the giant ghosts from Pac Man that we made with balloons and fabric and hung through the hall.  Our assembly was yesterday and it was one of our best!  The SBOs and each of the class officers had different games and the classes competed against each other.  I loved the freshmen game which was a giant version of Tic Tac Toe using hula hoops as the game board.  It was so fun to watch all of the contestants running back and forth.  The SBOs rented these giant plastic Zorbs and each player raced across the gym inside of one.  It was a riot!  We ended the assembly with our traditional Tug-O-War (there is bad blood between the juniors and sophomores after last year) and this year the Seniors won.  I loved it because the teams have been talking about it all week!  I have been putting in really long hours and I have been so stressed out so I am glad that it was a success but, more than that, I am glad that it is over!

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Quarters for Christmas 2016

Last week I helped my officers to sponsor a campaign to raise money for Quarters for Christmas.  My officers worked tirelessly to make this campaign a success and the students of Hunter High were incredibly generous this year!  We were able to present a check for $2,107.20 (the most we've ever raised at Christmastime) to KSL for a segment aired on the news.
Deanie Wimmer, one of the anchors on KSL, met with the officers and graciously thanked them for the donation, spending a considerable amount of time with them.  It was really fun to go behind the scenes to see what happens during a news broadcast.
I am really proud of my officers and the students of HHS for helping to make the holidays better for the children of Utah.

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Make A Wish 2016

Last year my officers had the amazing opportunity to work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Utah to sponsor Carson, a seven year old boy with a brain tumor.  His wish was to go to Disney World and, with the help of the generous student body of HHS, we were able to make his wish come true!  When the 2016-2017 officers were planning for this school year, they immediately wanted to sponsor another child.  In fact, one of the new officers told me that she specifically ran for office so she could participate in this campaign.  It is pretty magical!
This year we were able to sponsor McKelle, a girl who has cerebral palsy and hearing loss.  She loves the Disney princesses so we based our "Wish Week" around the princess theme.  One of the officers designed a special shirt for the week with Cinderella as the logo and we sold the shirts as a fundraiser.  We also ordered Make-A-Wish wristbands (we sold out of them in two days) and sold stars that students could write their names on to hang in the commons.  In addition, we held our 2nd Annual Dodgeball Tournament which raised quite a bit of money.  Like last year, we created a huge thermometer with challenges that the officers would complete in our Wish Assembly if certain monetary goals were achieved.
We introduced McKelle to the student body at the beginning of the assembly and she certainly charmed everyone in the gym.  My friend made her a princess shirt and she was so excited!
We had her Mom and several of her siblings speak to the crowd about the difficulties McKelle goes through on a daily basis.  They also spoke about her love of the Disney princesses.  She wants to go to Disney World so much that she has a bag packed by her bed ready to go!
Then we had a "Miracle Minute" where the officers went into the crowd to collect money.  HHS donated almost $1,000 in that minute!
Then the officers completed the challenges.  One of them was "Egg Roulette."  We had hard boiled and raw eggs and each officer had to pick one to smash against their forehead.  The raw egg was a little bit messy!
Another challenge was "Mystery Baby Food."  The officers were blindfolded and we fed them such delicacies as carrots, beets, squash, and peas.  Apparently, the peas are pretty gross!
Several officers had to eat a raw onion.  I didn't think this would be too bad but, apparently, it was disgusting!  We also had the boys wax their legs (like last year) and one of the officers cut her long hair!
When we were brainstorming different challenges, the officers wanted to have a tarantula walk on the officers who were afraid of spiders.  I didn't think that the administration would approve this challenge but they did with the proviso that we not harm the tarantula.  I thought that was hilarious!  It turns out that tarantulas are very fragile and, when I picked it up from the pet store, I was given lots of instructions.  When I was in college getting my teaching certificate, no one ever said that I would have to be a tarantula wrangler!
Throughout the week, we sold raffle tickets to students for the chance to throw a pie at their favorite teacher, coach, or administrator.  We drew twelve names and this was the highlight of the assembly!  I can't imagine why but we made lots of money with this challenge!  (The teachers, coaches, and administrators were very good sports!).  We were able to present a check to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Utah in the amount of $4,021.25!
Several of the officers dressed up as princesses to give McKelle a tiara and a trip to Disney World!  This week was so much work but it was worth it just to see McKelle's face when her wish was granted!  She programmed her iPad to thank the crowd and they gave her a standing ovation.  Such an amazing experience!

Note:  Go here to see the news story on KTVX and go here to find out more about Make-A-Wish Utah.

Friday, October 28, 2016

2016-2017 Student Body Officers

Over fall break the Student Body Officers had some photos taken at the Utah State Capitol Building and I really love how they turned out.  Here are a few of them.
This next one is my favorite because they wear their sweaters like this all of the time (they are really hot, especially at the end of summer when school starts).

Saturday, September 17, 2016

Homecoming 2016

This week has been Homecoming at HHS and my officers and I have been so busy!  This morning we had our annual assembly and it went so well!  I was so proud of my officers!
It has become tradition to have the leads from the upcoming musical sing the national anthem at the Homecoming Assembly.  This year the performing arts department is producing Fiddler on the Roof and I will definitely be seeing this show because they sounded amazing!
Our student body president opened the assembly.
A performance by the cheerleaders.
The ever popular spirit can made an appearance!
A performance by the Drill Team, the HHS Silhouettes.
The most popular game was the Mummy Wrap!  The team from the Theatre Council won!
Performance by Dance Co.
Announcing the Homecoming Royalty.
Our beautiful Homecoming Queen and her King (she is a lovely girl and she was absolutely thrilled when we told her that she had won).
My favorite part of the Homecoming Assembly is always when the football team performs the haka.  I saw this performed in New Zealand but I think ours is pretty amazing!  After school the officers decorated for the dance and then hosted a carnival featuring all of the clubs and organizations.  There was a huge crowd in attendance!
Then we had the Homecoming game against one of our fiercest rivals and we had one of the biggest crowds I've ever seen!
Aside from all of the fun traditional festivities, it was a great game!  Hunter ended up winning 33-13!

Saturday, August 20, 2016

Friday Night Lights

A big crowd at Ed Mayne Stadium for Wolverine Football!
School started this week so I am back to my normal (read: insanely busy) schedule.  I am still suffering a little bit from jet lag so I didn't feel as prepared to start the school year as I normally do but the kids still showed up at my door any way!  The good news is that I seemed to muddle through just fine and I have enjoyed getting to know my students.  The officers, of course, have hit the ground running and I am very proud of all of their hard work.  We had our Welcome Assembly yesterday and I think it went really well, especially considering that we had three days to prepare!
The spirit can made an appearance at the assembly.
Now that school is in session, I will be spending many of my Friday nights at football games.  Last night was our first game of the season against the American Fork Cavemen.  The Wolverines seemed to struggle a little bit because many of our stars from last season graduated and players are settling into new roles.  At one point, American Fork was up 17-0 and then Hunter came alive scoring three unanswered touchdowns.  However, American Fork scored twice in the fourth quarter to win the game 31-21.
The spirit can made an appearance at the game, too!
Even though we lost this game, it was still a lot of fun!  The officers made banners and used the spirit can to keep the crowd cheering.  Being at the game makes for a really long day but it is so fun to see the students outside of the classroom and I had a group around me most of the time.  Now that football season is here I want it to be fall!

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Leadership Conference 2016

Less than an hour after I got off the plane from Chicago I was on the road to St. George to meet my student body and class officers for a leadership conference at Dixie State University.  I have never been more tired in my life but I had so much fun with this amazing group of students!  I had a great group of kids last year but I was in the middle of selling my house and my head just wasn't there.  This year I soaked it all up!  We had keynote speakers, workshops, activities, and service projects (and one or two midnight runs to McDonalds).  One night we were able to see Peter Pan at the Tuacahn Amphitheatre which was amazing, another night we had a barbecue and pool party at the Washington Rec Center, and on our last night we had a black light dance.  We dominated every roll call with our loud cheers and, by the end of the week, every other school knew who we were!  It was a wonderful opportunity for my new officers to get to bond with each other and plan for the 2016-2017 school year.  I am really looking forward to our year together.

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