Throughout the school year, tensions are high during tests and assignments, and the academic demand can be hard for students to achieve without a clear idea of what to look forward to in the upcoming school year. A student’s opinions and views directly affect how successful their school year may be. Student positivity and involvement can improve school attendance, school test scores, and extra-curricular activity participation.

The teachers’ outlook on the school year can also tremendously influence the student perspectives and opinions of the school. So, who ultimately influences our school? We believe it’s the students. The students are the most influential body because they make up the majority of the school. The ratio of students to teachers is 16:1, according to publicschoolreview.com on a test on the school population. Naturally, the students need a representative to speak for the group; this representation is found in the Student Council.

Student Council (StuCo) is a group of students who work together to help organize school activities and advocate in favor of the students and school. Students interested in StuCo positions make posters as well as videos to present their ideas to the student body; appear to the student body as a proper candidate. Posters are placed around the school for the student body to see, and when the time for elections comes near, the student body votes for a class president and vice president. The winners are nominated based on votes and are thus chosen to help lead the class.

Students can go to their class representatives to offer ideas they would like to see implemented around the school. The class representatives then take student feedback to the next student council meeting, which can ultimately result in school-wide changes. StuCo wants your opinions. Your views matter. The points of views of students can make a big difference and make the school a better place.

StuCo has many plans for the upcoming school year. Garrett Dahlke, the President of the student body stated, “We are trying to be more collaborative by improving our communication, whether by announcements, instagram posts or any other method we may use. We want to get word about what is going on out there so students can have the opportunity to get involved.”

Recently StuCo welcomed the freshman class president and vice president to the team. Ridge McGovern, new freshman class president says, “I feel like for years to come we need to make student impact a much bigger part of our school. Having the students voice their opinions is a great idea and option. Learning and listening from the students here at GHS will help us improve the needs and wants of the school as a whole.” Communication is a large part of a functional school or activity. If there is poor communication, student involvement may decrease as well as students’ positivity. Open communication across the board encourages participation. It takes a voice to speak above the crowd to help change things now and in the future.

When students are excited about school, they are more likely to succeed. According to the article “How the Power of Interest Drives Learning,” Paul Silvia from the University of North Carolina states, “When we’re interested in what we’re learning, we pay closer attention; we process the information more efficiently; we employ more effective learning strategies, such as engaging in critical thinking.” When students are interested, they are more engaged, more likely to have fun, and they will enjoy learning and be excited to go to school.

When asked in his interview “In your opinion, how could students be more excited about learning?” Dahlke responded, “As a Student Council, we are trying to create a place where students enjoy spending their time. We know that sitting in class for seven hours isn’t always going to be enjoyable, but we hope that we can create a place where students can form friendships with classmates or relationships with teachers so that school is a more enjoyable place.”

When McGovern was asked the same question, he stated, “In my opinion, I feel the students should be very excited to be a Gallatin Raptor. Our school presents many opportunities for students; whether it is a club, sport, team, and many other things. One thing that I would like to see teachers doing is more hands-on activities.” Boden Brekke, the freshman class vice president, responded with, “Make new friends. Having friends in classes makes them a lot more enjoyable.” 

Dahlke and McGovern share some other thoughts about the school year and how they want things to look going forward:

Q: “How do you see the school year going so far?”

A: Dahlke: “This school year has been off to an amazing start. We have had a tremendous amount of school spirit display in our fall sports. Student sections have been rowdy, new freshmen have begun to find their way in a new school, and our homecoming week was so much fun.”

McGovern: “This school year so far has been off to a great start! My freshman year has been amazing and to think we are 1/4 of the way done with our 2022/23 school year is crazy.”

Q: “How do you want the rest of the school year to be/feel like?”

A: Dahlke: “During the rest of the school year, we hope to see this same energy, and we are really focusing on involvement and participation. We also are trying to just create positivity in the school as often as possible and in many different ways. I personally hope we can ramp this up even more to create the best school environment possible.”

McGovern: “For the rest of the 2022-23 year, I would like to see many more fun activities for our students to participate in. Whether that’s in your classes, homeroom, or after-school events. I think a weekly assembly would be an awesome idea to get teachers involved in games against their students.”

Brekke: “I would like it to continue being fun.” 

Students, with the help of their StuCo representatives, heavily influence the school and its success with their opinions, ideas, and communication. What students do one year can impact the years to come. One student can influence the whole student body. So be a voice. Your opinions matter.