After the final bell of the school day rings at Sunset Ridge Intermediate School, dozens of students gather in the school’s black box theater for Leadership Club. The fifth and sixth graders are taking charge of creating positive change in their campus community with schoolwide programs and initiatives. There’s a sort of organized chaos as students make posters on the floor, gather around laptops while seated on the risers, and take turns rehearsing at the microphone. But the energy in the room is vibrant, and these kids are getting things done.
Sixth grade math teacher Anja Felton is the club’s advisor. At their first meeting, she asked the 65 students who signed up, “What can we do to make our school better?” They came up with innovative ideas to build spirit and a better sense of community at the school. Felton’s goal is to let the students do it all themselves, from start to finish.
“I love doing this kind of stuff!” Felton said. “The posters might be hung a little crooked or have a word that is misspelled, but that’s okay. It’s by the kids for the kids, and that makes a difference. It gives them buy-in, a taste of leadership before they move to middle school. And they’re doing great!”
Today, they are doing a run-through for their first student-led assembly, and they want to get it right. The students in Leadership Club have written the scripts, volunteered as presenters, created a slideshow, and planned the activities. They’ll set up the gym before the assembly, and they’ll break it down after. Felton stands aside, helping as needed, but letting the students run the show. And they shine, with a smooth presentation from start to finish.
The theme for this assembly is gratitude, and the fifth and sixth graders take turns sharing their research. They list ten benefits of gratitude, including “Gratitude improves self-esteem,” “It makes us more optimistic,” and “It lowers stress and anxiety.” They suggest ways to be more grateful every day, like creating a gratitude journal, volunteering in the community, or just spending time each day thinking of the things to be grateful for. They invite audience participation, asking for a show of hands on true/false questions about how gratitude impacts one’s life.
Next is a presentation on the fifth and sixth grade students of the month, and then the library patrons of the month are announced. Next, they hold raffles for Sunset Ridge school spirit items and a pizza party with principal Todd Graves. There is fierce competition to be one of the pretend winners at the rehearsal, with students in the audience shouting out names to be called. The “winners” are called to the stage, where they hold their prizes aloft. Felton laughs and reminds them to return the prizes before returning to their seats.
Students introduce the school’s band to play three songs. Then they close the assembly with instructions to the crowd. “You guys did a really good job with the assembly,” Felton says. “It’s always a little nerve-wracking. So good job.”
One student responds, “I actually kind of like it! I thought it was fun.” Others agree, yeah, it was. They’re proud of what they have accomplished, and they’re looking forward to next week’s assembly.
After the rehearsal, there is still more to do, and they break up into committees. The schoolwide Google Classroom group figures out how to make it more fun and interesting. Another group goes out to hang handmade school spirit posters in the hallways. The slide crew pulls out laptops to work on digital slides for the TVs in the school’s common areas: positive thoughts, jokes, trivia, and event reminders. And the group working on community service projects has so many ideas that they need to narrow it down to their top choices. The theater buzzes with activity and excited young voices. The Leadership Club at Sunset Ridge is building a better school community, one step at a time.