Have you ever wondered what goes on in the Primary school? Have you ever been curious how the annual ski trip comes together? It’s all put together by one group of students and two teachers. The Lodi High School Leadership Council is a mostly student run organization. It consists of four committees that each do different things not just in the high school but across the district and even outside. The committees are the Big Buddies, the Elderly Buddies, School appreciation, and Seasonal Events. Each committee has two to three chairs or leaders. The chairs organize the students in their committee and the activities they do. For example, Annabel Strong, the co-chair for the Big Buddies, said, “I make surveys of the committee to vote on what crafts and activities we do that month and then I organize what materials we need for that month.” The whole council has three officers to run the show, such as organizing the large group meetings and helping the chairs.
The Leadership Council also has two adult advisors to assist the whole council. Profe Schoepp is one of these advisors, and Mr. Kittleson is the other. Profe Schoepp has worked with the council for three years and says she, “helps our committees plan and run various events around our school and community.” Both advisors help with the School Appreciation committee and the Seasonal Event committee, which organizes activities for students in and out of LHS. Mr. Kittleson helps the Elderly Buddies, while Profe Schoepp helps the Big Buddies.
The Leadership Council Itself is a great way to get into the LHS community and make a difference. The other committees have lots of fun. The Elderly Buddies go to Dove Healthcare every month to keep the residents company. The Seasonal Event committee is a good way to affect student life with plenty of fun activities, such as the ski trip and the volleyball tournament. The School Appreciation committee affects the staff at LHS by writing cards and organizing gifts. The Leadership Council builds the relationships students have. Profe Schoepp says, “I love that the Leadership Council is able to create positive relationships between students in LHS and outside of our building as well. It also helps me get to know my students more outside of the classroom!”
Profe Schoepp says, “Big Buddies is a group that goes to the Primary School once a month to work with 1st grade students in Mrs. Walsh and Mrs. Howard’s classrooms,” where the Big Buddies do activities with the kids. These activities include games, crafts, and activities to help the Big and Little Buddies get to know about each other. Annabel Strong said, “last month at the primary school we played bingo and made flowers out of paper plates,” for example. Deciding the activities is a fairly collaborative process. Members of the committee brainstorm activities and crafts, then, the chairs pick their favorites and let the members vote and discuss.
The committee is a great way to branch out from the high school and have some fun. It’s not just the high schooler who enjoys it. The Little Buddies also get to have some fun. In fact, Annabel said, “I love making the primary schoolers’ day when we come and see them and I love interacting and teaching them new things when we go,” and Profe Schoepp says, “I love that we get to visit the same classrooms every time and that our students get to build better relationships with their buddies!”
The Leadership Council is an organization dedicating itself to connect with the people in the school and outside of the building as well. It is mostly run by students and accessible for all. Whether you want to affect the students and staff here or connect to people outside LHS, there’s a place for everyone. The Big Buddies are one such committee who connect to the first grade students in Mrs. Walsh and Mrs. Howard’s classes, building friendships that make both the Little and Big Buddies days.
