WHS ASB: We Believe!

WAITSBURG – Leadership comes in all shapes and sizes, and this year's WHS Associated Student Body (ASB) team is decidedly different from last year's. But that doesn't mean they don't have big plans for the school and students.

Last year's outgoing and energetic ASB team, led by President Owen Lanning, focused on getting students to participate in school spirit with the theme "Be True to Your School."

This year's more reflective representatives include President Stuart Walsh (senior), Vice-president Taylor Hays (junior), Secretary Julia Taylor (junior), and Treasurer Skylar Wood (junior).

"This year we're trying to step back and reassess what we're going for – fine tuning everything to see what works and what doesn't," said Walsh.

The team chose "We Believe!" as the school theme for the year and put together their own set of "We Believe" statements that they shared with students at the school's first pep rally of the year on Sept. 17.

We believe everyone matters.

We believe everyone has a voice that needs to be heard.

We believe in working to the best of our ability.

We believe everyone can achieve.

We believe there is more than one answer.

We believe everyone's opinion should be heard and respected.

We believe change can be for the best.

We believe in having fun.

The ASB team purchased "We Believe" T-shirts for the entire student body, which happened to arrive just in time for Spirit Day of Homecoming week.

Last month, the team attended a Fall Leadership Day in Pomeroy, sponsored by the Association of Washington Student Leaders.

"We learned different ways to propose activities and how to make it easier for leaders like Mrs. Wooderchak to approve them. And we learned different leadership tactics," said Walsh.

"We also talked about closing the gap between teachers and students and between classes," said Hays. "We want everyone to want to come to school, not just come because they have to. And we want everyone to feel included," she added.

"Each leadership team has its own identity and personality," said ASB Advisor Roseann Groom. "This team's goal is to listen to what the other kids have to say, rather than to be super vocal leaders."

The ASB team meets weekly to discuss and evaluate previous activities and to come up with new ideas. They are planning an assembly (involving a scooter race) on Oct. 30, to implement and practice some of the strategies they learned at the recent Leadership Day.

"It was fun to meet with the leaders of the other schools because they had so many ideas," said Hays. She specifically mentioned a Lost-and-Found Fashion Show and a Pitch Perfect-style Riff Off.

This year's ASB officers may be a bit more laid back than their recent predecessors, but it sounds like they plan to have just as much fun.