Silver streamers sparkle and balloons float towards the ceiling as LASA’s Student Council (StuCo) decorates the cafeteria for the school dance. In addition to planning school dances, the council is responsible for organizing grade-level socials throughout the school year to help students get to know one another and planning teacher breakfasts to show appreciation for their work. 

Every Wednesday, student council members meet during lunch to discuss plans for future events. Not only this, but they also meet with the school administration and Parent Teacher Administration (PTA) once a month during a Campus Advisory Council (CAC) meeting. Freshman StuCo president Cecelia Gay said she enjoys the meetings as a way to provide a voice for students’ interests. 

“Every month, one person from each grade level in StuCo goes to what is called a CAC meeting,” Gay said. “PTA members and Ms. Crescenzi talk about future plans and concerns about the school. This way we have a say in what is happening.” 

Sophomore StuCo president Jaynie Lee is glad she is able to meet with Crescenzi each month because the meetings allow the council to make large steps to support LASA. Lee said StuCo is beneficial to the school because they build a community and plan events that support the school. 

“Student council events really promote school spirit and community,” Lee said. “I’ve been able to connect a lot more with the LASA community through planning and participating in StuCo sponsored events.” 

Student council not only plans dances but also does smaller projects that benefit the teachers as well as the students. Sophomore student representative Sofia Francis said the small events, like selling candy around holidays, are important to raise money for larger class dances. According to Francis, StuCo is involved in every step of the planning process.

“Stuff we do includes the holiday cheer events, which would be candygrams, hallway decorating, class gift exchanges, and class T-shirt sales,” Francis said. “We host at least two teacher breakfast events to show our appreciation for our teachers and to relieve a little bit of stress at the end of the year.”

Other than school-wide activities, Francis said each grade level is required to plan at least two socials each year. According to Lee, each grade council works individually to plan the social and then gets the events approved by the administration, StuCo sponsor Melissa Alexander Driscoll (Ms. A), and Parents and Friends of LASA (PFLASA). 

“We normally split into different teams for different aspects and categories per big event,” Lee said. “For grade-wide socials, we usually plan details within each grade council and get them approved by Mr. Paulson and Ms. A first. Then we find two parent volunteers through PFLASA.”

Once these socials are approved by the administration, it is important to schedule it for a day that works for everyone in StuCo. Gay said it needs to be an event that all students can attend and does not conflict with any other major events.

“We are given a set budget,” Gay said. “We pick a day and time that works best for all of the freshman StuCo and get our plan in motion.”

Throughout the year, students have to participate in school-wide events, but StuCo takes advantage of this time to plan a grade-level event. According to Francis, with all the stress of reaching various important milestones throughout high school, the socials are a way for students to relax and take their mind off of other things.

“We have to make it cost-effective but still fun,” Francis said. “We’ll schedule them near big events, like college application submissions or Finals week, to take that extra bit of stress off of students.” 

Francis said it is also important for StuCo members to be in contact with each other and the other students in their grade. This can help notify everyone about upcoming activities, or things to be prepared for. 

“Each grade level has an Instagram and a Remind to reach out to the extended classes about events, when requested,” Francis said. “Student council’s main responsibility is to handle student events and student communications.”

Communication between StuCo and the students is very beneficial when planning events, according to Francis. Gay agrees that constant communication builds a community for the student body and improves student-representative relationships. 

“StuCo events help people connect with others and make new bonds,” Gay said. “It also builds our relationship with others, so they feel like they could talk to us if they had a pressing issue that maybe we could do something about.”

Planning the events are not only beneficial for the LASA community but also for the members of StuCo as Lee said it provides an opportunity for members to meet new people.

“My favorite part of being in student council is getting to meet so many new people and be involved in planning big events,” Lee said. 

Lee, Gay, and Francis are looking forward to upcoming events with the council. Currently, StuCo is planning prom on April 9.