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 Members of the Wapakoneta Middle School Student Council pose for photo outside the classroom earlier this year. To date, the group has raised nearly $2,300 in which they have donated to various local and area organizations throughout the 2009-2010 school year. Photo provided By KRISTA HAYES
Staff Writer
With the end of the school year nearing, Wapakoneta Middle School Student Council members are hoping to end their term on a positive note.
During the school year, the school government raised nearly $2,300 for various local and area organizations.
“Each year, we try and raise as much money as we can for various clubs and organizations that we vote on and decide to help support at the beginning of the school year,” Wapakoneta Middle School Student Council President Neal Maxson said.
Elected a Student Council representative of his homeroom, Maxson, a seventh-grade student, said this is his second year serving on the council. This year as president, his main responsibility is to set forth an agenda and preside over the group’s monthly meetings which are held the first and third Thursday of each month.
“I joined the Student Council because I was looking for a new activity to do and thought it’d be challenging experience,” Maxson said. “Politics have always been one of the things to stick out in my head and when I grow up, I want to be a lawyer.
“Overall, as president I think I have done a pretty good job,” he said. “Being president is a lot harder than what I thought it would be since I have to make the agendas, run the meetings, and keep the advisers in the loop. I have the whole weight of the council on my shoulders, and at times it can get frustrating, but I would recommend it to all the kids coming to the middle school next year because it’s a fun activity to be involved in.”
With advisers Marilyn Shaw and Dawn Rankin providing guidance, the 2009-10 Wapakoneta Middle School Student Council is composed of Maxson as president, Kami Sammetinger as vice president, Lillian Schaub as roll call secretary, Taylor Fisher as recording secretary, Josie Miller as treasurer and Morgan Fisher as news reporter.
Together, these student representatives and officers have organized various fundraisers throughout the year with the proceeds benefitting local and area charities and organizations.
In November, the council started collecting pop can tabs to donate to the Ronald McDonald House, along with pop bottle caps to support kidney dialysis research and Shriners International.
The group also held it’s annual Veterans Day ceremony in which $500 was donated to both Freedom’s Colors and an area disabled veterans hospital.
“In December we collected hats, gloves, mittens and scarves to donate to the Wapakoneta High School Octagon Club, and held a fundraiser for the Wapakoneta Fire Department’s Christmas Cheer Program where we collected canned goods in each classroom,” Maxson said. “To finish out December, we raffled off several OSU baskets and all the money that was raised went towards Mr. (Wade) Biss who was recently diagnosed with cancer.”
The group kicked-off the new year by collecting toys, dog and cat food, newspapers and collars to donate to the Auglaize County Humane Society. In addition, the students spent three Saturdays in February volunteering their time to walk dogs and groom cats at the facility.
“In February, we also held an activity night for students with all proceeds going to benefit active soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Maxson said. “Earlier this month we decided to have ‘Pennies for Patients’ and held a benefit basketball game between the seventh-grade girls and seventh-grade boys. All students that attended paid $1 to get in and all money raised went toward leukemia and lymphoma research.”
To finish the year, Student Council members are scheduled to hold an activity night on April 9 in celebration of Earth Day, in which all the night’s event will be centered around an environmental theme.
The group is also expected to hold a Teacher’s Appreciation Week in May with one final activity night bidding a farewell to all seventh-grade student council members and representatives.
“This year, Neal has been very enthusiastic in serving as president of the student council and somehow always seems to make the meetings fun for all the other students involved,” Shaw said. He’s done a great job, and overall I’d say the biggest learning experiences he has had to face while serving as president are planning each event and keeping open communication with us advisers.”
Serving as an adviser for the past seven years, Shaw said year after year she continues loving to work with each new group of students while helping them to develop their life’s skills.
“I decided to become an adviser years ago because I love working with the students and fostering a sense of leadership and knowledge in them to help them understand how community organizations and council meetings operate,” Shaw said. “I believe that instilling the concept of service in giving back to one’s community and school is an foundation block of learning and an important skill they are going to need as they continue on in life as adults.”
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