Hawthorne Elementary students present rotating student council, recycling and playground improvements

Students from Hawthorne Elementary presented the school’s rotating student council model to the Kearney R‑I School Board during the meeting’s school spotlight.

Staff explained that the school converted its “Bulldogs of the Month” recognition into a student council, rotating roughly 12 students each month so that by the end of the year about 80 students participate. Students said the council meets monthly (now weekly on Friday afternoons), identifies issues and proposes solutions, and helps implement projects. Examples presented included: purchasing a large wheeled container to collect and transport playground balls to reduce litter and lost equipment; installing a consistent lost‑and‑found rack with hangers to make returned items easier to locate; and piloting classroom recycling boxes to build a schoolwide recycling habit.

Students described a mentoring approach in which older students help younger classmates with recycling and other projects; staff said members wear small identifying stickers when acting in council capacity. The presenters said the program builds belonging and student leadership and that the school plans a large campus cleanup project toward the end of the school year involving all student council participants.