This year’s middle school student council is determined to have monthly events, including a pie eating contest that happened earlier this month. However, behavior has become a concern because of past and recent incidents. Council members want to bring the change students need to encourage better behavior.

“I hope to improve people’s behavior. That’s kind of a problem. I think that some of the things we could do could help improve people’s behavior,” Vice President Dylan Miller said. The eighth grader mentioned recent altercations.

Miller wants student council to use events as incentives for better behavior. Student council is in charge of organizing events, fundraisers, and representing middle school as a whole.

“Most of the things we’re doing kind of have to do with behavior and stuff. Like the dance in October, you have to have no suspensions or referrals or anything like that,” Miller said.

“You know how some students, if they won’t be good in school or be better they won’t be able to do most things in the school, like the pie eating contest, that’s based on attendance and stuff like that,” eighth grade delegate Timothy Pitts said.

Not only do council members want to improve the environment they are in, but they want to improve communication between them and their peers. One of the student council’s hopes is to make videos for the students as an easier way for the teachers to get information out and help with recognizing fundraising events.

“We’re making a YouTube channel so we can actually try and get the word out. Also we’re trying to get a hold of organizations that would want to be funded by us. Last year we did The Covering House for girls that were in sex trafficking because St. Louis is such a plug for sex trafficking because we’re like in the middle of everywhere. So we donated money and we raised a can food drive,” said seventh grade delegate Nola Kelley.

“[My hope is that] we get a better understanding of how the rules work and not to fight so much,” said seventh-grade delegate, Sam Meyer.

With events and fundraisers come budgeting and making sure that everything runs smoothly. Treasurer, seventh grade Katherine Bittle, is doing exactly that.

“Seeing how much money we have in the school budget, what we can buy, what the school needs for the dance or what we can just have as something fun to make it better, stuff like that,” Bittle said.

Bittle stressed that she wants to bring more sports and field trips opportunities to the school as well, “Well of course the events have not been the best in the past years, I would really want to change that. Also I had, in 6th grade I had no field trips I want to see if I can, if we can earn money so, that people are able to go on field trips,” Bittle said.

“I want this year to be better than any other year. Being one of the eighth grade delegates, I plan on helping to change everyone’s attitudes towards the school and changing their views to positive thoughts when they talk about our school,” said eighth grade delegate Baelana Hendrix.

Student council sponsor and eighth grade English teacher, Dr. Michelle Oyola’s advisory has now turned into a planning period for student council to brainstorm ideas and create these events and fundraisers for the school.

“My advisory is now all student leadership kids. So that provides us with opportunities to do even more, because they see them every day. Student council specifically wants to do more school-based fundraising, they want to strive to have one event, per month, I know they want to try and get more after-school activities going for middle school because right now we really don’t have anything, and they just want to do more positive fun stuff,” Oyola said. “Through this middle school began the process of planning, a pie eating contest in the month of September, a Halloween party in October and possibly a winter ball in December, these events will be fundraised for and have certain behavioral requirements for students to be eligible to attend.”

Several of the middle school student council staff, have joined student council to improve the school where they feel it’s needed and to make an overall better school environment for the students, “I don’t really know I think I’m very optimistic I guess and… I’m really excited I really want to help out my school, and I thought it would be so much fun to in a cool way to join student council so that I can help it out,” Bittle said.

A lot of the student council were also members last year; “Our president Colin and our vice president actually Dylan and Cole this is their third year in STUCO for the both of them, so they’ve been around a long time they’ve been part of everything we’ve done, and I’m just glad that I get them another year,” Oyola said.

New members include sixth grade delegate Anna Landgraf. “I’m good at leadership and I thought that could really help sixth grade,” Landgraf said, “I would say make the experience better.”

“What made me run for STUCO this year was because last year I was talking about how nervous I was, but this year I really wanted to go for it not only because of the fun but because I can help be a part of the change that we will be working on this year in STUCO,” eighth grade secretary Jie Cruesoe said.

All council staff members have come together to begin there planning for the school year, “Just that we’ve got some amazing kids this year, like the kids that we picked…the kids that were elected, in addition to kids coming back, like we had our first actual advisory session…There’s a lot of energy, there’s a lot of excitement, kids with a lot of good ideas already. I’m feeling really good about this year,” Oyola said.

Middle school student council is working toward an eventful year while helping their peers better their behavior through those events. They plan on using past fundraisers as examples for new ideas to create a better environment.