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Orange County High student council president describes spirit weeks, wellness events and outreach
Summary
Student council president Dylan Mills presented a report on spirit weeks, pep rallies, wellness activities, service projects and student communications at Orange County High School.
"My name is Dylan Mills. I am a junior at Orange County High School and I am our student council president," Dylan Mills told the Orange County School Board during the Feb. 24 meeting.
Mills outlined a series of student-driven activities intended to increase participation and school morale. He described a refreshed approach to spirit weeks, including a recurring "What to Wear Wednesday" theme, and detailed new pep rallies with themed games and activities designed to boost attendance and enthusiasm. Mills said the leadership corps has tried to vary events so "every pep rally [has] a theme" and to include random students in contests to keep assemblies fresh.
Mills also described a number of wellness and service activities. His student council cooked and distributed about 300 hot dogs to staff in one event, and they piloted "Cookies with Santa," a charitable event in which student volunteers baked roughly 300 sugar cookies and provided free crafts and photos with Santa for local children. Mills said the Cookies with Santa event ran about three hours and he intends to try to make it annual. Students also participated in "Santa to a Senior," a holiday gift program that collected items for local senior citizens, and school clubs led a trunk-or-treat that drew community participation.
On communication and outreach, Mills said student council boosted its social-media posting frequency and launched a weekly bulletin and a visible information board in the cafeteria, which students have reacted to positively. He also described a new club schedule that replaced a less-productive rotating system and a newsletter he plans to revive.
Mills said two members of Orange County High’s student council were running for state-level Student Council offices; he said he was a candidate for Virginia Student Council Association president and that Amanti Lindsey was seeking the Region 4 representative post.
Board members praised Mills’ presentation; the chair invited him back and asked about frequency of student reports. Mills said he hoped to return as often as his sponsors and school schedules allow and that he planned to establish systems so events such as Cookies with Santa run consistently each year.
The presentation gave the board a student perspective on extracurricular programming, student-led wellness initiatives and ways the school is trying to improve participation and school climate.
