Student Leadership Week: Elementary Mini Leadership Workshops

“Come in, come in, don't stop, don't stop, don't stop….” On April 19 and 27 the Highlands 8th Grade Council visited Pearl City and Lehua Elementary schools for Leadership Week 2017. We cheered them up by, of course, starting with off with tons of cheers, icebreakers and energizers! From there we focused on teaching specific leadership skills through fun activities like Card Towers, Team Cup Stack Challenge! and Cat and Mouse. We honestly had such a great time during Leadership Week, I mean look at these pictures! The students got to learn some very meaningful skills that they will surely use in the near future, like when they come up to our school, Highlands Intermediate ;)   Thea, 8th Grade Secretary

Highlands Intermediate Receives National Student Council Award!

Pearl City, HI—For its exemplary record of leadership, service, and activities that serve to improve the school and community, Highlands Intermediate Student Council has been awarded a 2017 National Gold Council of Excellence Award by the National Association of Student Councils (NASC).  There are 9 schools in the state of Hawaii with this distinction, with Highlands Intermediate being the only middle school represented!

“Receiving an NASC National Gold Council of Excellence Award reflects the highest dedication on the part of the school to providing a strong, well-rounded student council program,” said Ann Postlewaite, National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) student programs director. “NASC applauds the work of the National Gold Councils of Excellence and challenges them to continue their leadership and service to their schools and communities.”

“I couldn’t be more proud of this group of student leaders in creating such an awesome and energizing environment that reverberated throughout the 2016-17 school year!  Even more amazing was the way our student leaders incorporated this year’s school theme “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter!” into all the activities the entire school year, turning Highlands into Hogwarts, our teachers in Professors and our Gym into the pitch for our inaugural Highlands Quidditch Cup! This Highlands Student Council 16-17 is the best I’ve ever had the privilege of working with in my 10 years at Highlands Intermediate School!” — Mr. Eric White

To meet the requirements for the NASC National Council of Excellence Award, a student council must meet a variety of criteria. In addition to basic requirements such as a written constitution, regular meetings, a democratic election process, and membership in NASC, councils demonstrate things such as leadership training for council members, teacher/staff appreciation activities, student recognition programs, school and community service projects, spirit activities, goal setting, financial planning, and active participation in state and national student council associations. Those councils awarded the gold level have successfully demonstrated the highest levels of leadership.

To learn more about the National Council of Excellence Award, visit www.nasc.us/ncoe.

Highlands Leadership Conference 2017

The inaugural Highlands Leadership Conference was a big time success! All the Pearl City elementary schools — Momilani, PCES, Manana, PCHES, Waiau, Palisades, and Lehua — all came down to the Student Council Room for a fun-filled day of learning and lots of memories! The main purpose of HLC2017 was to institute a yearly Pearl City Complex student council summit, creating a venue for idea sharing and collaboration that had not previously existed. This event would provide a venue for all of us to 1.) identify and understand the structure of Student Council/Leadership at each Pearl City school 2.) how we could cooperate in activities as a complex.  This vertical alignment would result in mutual understanding and future collaborations between not only our Student Councils/Leadership, but also collaborations between entire schools 3.) get to know the advisors at each of the Pearl City complex schools, and 4.) build and improve relationships throughout the Pearl City Complex Student Councils. This collaboration will help us with our main Student Council goal of providing amazing student activities to make school a safe and fun place to learn across the entire Pearl City Complex! Our very own Highlands Intermediate Student Council members helped facilitate the activities, lessons, energizers, and challenges, making sure every guest felt safe and comfortable throughout the day. To top it all off, we had a special guest performer, a magician -- Takeshi — to perform a an amazing magic show and to emphasize the theme for HLC2017, “The Magic of Leadership!” As the day started to come to an end, we wrapped it up with a lesson on how to leave a legacy….We said our goodbyes to the elementary student councils and thanked them for attending. Everyone had fun and learned more about leadership in the process. We hope next year can be just as great, or maybe even more magical than this year’s event!  Taylor, SG Vice-President 

 

 

Highlands StuCo Does It Again! 2016 NASC Gold Council of Excellence Award

Highlands does it again! The Highlands Intermediate Student Council has be awarded the 2016 NASC Gold Council of Excellence Award. We are honored to be recognized on a national level with other councils from across the country that exhibit the same passion and energy towards their schools. The 2016 NASC Gold Council of Excellence Award is for an exemplary record of leadership, service, and activities that serve to improve the school and community. Yay, us ;)  Jaeda, 8th Grade VP