{"id":6923,"date":"2024-05-30T12:40:18","date_gmt":"2024-05-30T17:40:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/?p=6923"},"modified":"2024-05-30T16:41:08","modified_gmt":"2024-05-30T21:41:08","slug":"students-take-center-stage-in-grace-church-schools-community-meetings-makeover","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/students-take-center-stage-in-grace-church-schools-community-meetings-makeover\/","title":{"rendered":"Students Take Center Stage in Community Meeting Makeover"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Image provided by Sofia Ulrich ’24<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the start of the 2023-2024 school year, Grace Church School began to prioritize student involvement in community meetings. In previous years, students often complained about community meetings. However, the new changes have shifted opinions. Many students now see the revamped community meetings as an opportunity to build unity and hear from their peers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last school year, community meetings were announcement-focused, with teachers and guest speakers leading the conversations. Often, there were little to no announcements, and the meetings felt drawn out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anika A. \u201826 described the 2022-2023 community meetings as \u201ckinda pointless,\u201d a sentiment expressed by several students. However, this year, significant changes have been implemented to enhance the effectiveness and engagement of our community meetings. One notable change has been introducing the House system, which was featured in a November House-focused article.<\/a>  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The House competitions transformed the atmosphere of community meetings. Community meetings have taken on a more playful and interactive tone by organizing students into houses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The high school\u2019s assistant head, Tom James, remarked that \u201cpeople have gotten really into their house\u2019s spirit\u201d during meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to House games, students are now encouraged to email Mr. James if they wish to participate in the meeting. This new policy has led to several student-led activities, such as Green Griffins\u2019 environmental scavenger hunt and the famous Debate-Jenga competition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another new change has been the addition of advisory-led activities. Each advisory is tasked with designing an activity every quarter, which helps foster grade-level bonds. Recently, the sophomore class participated in a competitive but still friendly game of Capture the Flag. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shay V-S. \u201926 described the meeting as \u201ca way to feel connected to [their] grade and it was so nice to be able to have fun with one another.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students have reacted positively to these changes, with a general shift in attitude surrounding the community meetings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Micah W. \u201926 summed up his perspective, saying, \u201cThe new rules have been really beneficial. Community meetings are more fun and entertaining now.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prudence M. \u201926 describes the meetings as \u201cmore enthusiastic\u201d than last year\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Tenth-grade student representative Sami D. \u201926 says community meetings have become an \u201cengaging part of [her] week.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite students now taking the lead, community meetings still serve to update Grace students on what\u2019s been happening on a local and global level. For example, students can share their athletic and academic achievements during meetings, allowing them to be acknowledged for their hard work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ruby S. \u201927 feels that \u201ccommunity meetings allow people to share what they\u2019re creating and doing at the school.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Mr. James, students jump at the opportunity to share their work with their peers, encapsulating the newfound level of student engagement during community meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The addition of more student-led meetings at the high school has not only revitalized community meetings but has fostered a sense of belonging and unity among students. What was once perceived as \u201cpointless\u201d has become a platform for student engagement, creativity, and mutual support. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students have embraced these gatherings as opportunities to showcase their talents and contributions. With students now taking the lead in sharing their achievements and endeavors, community meetings have evolved into vibrant forums where individuals feel valued and heard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the closing of the school year, it\u2019s evident how these changes have already improved meetings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Mr. James aptly observed, the level of student engagement shows the success of these changes, signaling a promising future for the high school community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Zarina Medeiros \u201826 is a staff writer for <\/em>The Grace Gazette.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Image provided by Sofia Ulrich ’24 At the start of the 2023-2024 school year, Grace Church School began to prioritize student involvement in community meetings. In previous years, students often… Continue reading “Students Take Center Stage in Community Meeting Makeover”<\/span> <\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":80,"featured_media":6926,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[7],"tags":[180,399],"appful":[],"class_list":["post-6923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-school","tag-featured","tag-grace-church-school"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9uEnr-1NF","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Screenshot-2024-05-30-at-1.33.46\u202fPM.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/80"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6923"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6923\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6931,"href":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6923\/revisions\/6931"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6923"},{"taxonomy":"appful","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracegazette.org\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/appful?post=6923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}