On Thursday, September 30th, WESS’s student council met to plan, collaborate and discuss some of the many issues and opportunities facing the WESS community. Since WESS’s high school opened in 2018 a lot has changed both in the world, the WESS community, and the student council itself. But one thing remains the same in the student council: the excitement and drive regarding WESS’s future. 

In an interview with class president, William French, he explained how as a new school, the student council has a responsibility to not just the current classes but to the classes to come. 

Over the past four years of student council, student council has not only been planning school events and programs such as club fairs, town halls and WESS talks (a platform for WESS students to gather and discuss ways we can improve the WESS community). They have also been developing student council itself as a program and a constant that will support, plan and build community throughout WESS’s future. They are creating a platform that future student councils can expand on. 

Working to support the classes to come is not the only responsibility student council has. After a pandemic forcing school to be remote, WESS’s current highschool community could use some support as well. One of the main goals of student council this year is to bring back the community WESS had before the pandemic and make it even better. 

French referred to it as “a community that acts, listens, discusses, cares for one another and shows up for each other.” 

Building a community where everyone feels safe and appreciated might be the most important goal for this year. Student council has plans to re-introduce the student lounge as a space to foster community, introduce more all school events such as dances, continue wess talks in person and continue to foster relationships between upperclassmen and underclassmen. All of these plans should contribute towards this goal.

With our first year back from COVID and WESS celebrating its first highschool graduating class, student council is excited about creating new traditions and celebrating the class of 2022. Some plans being discussed include a school store with merch and snacks, more use of the student council google classroom, collaborating with local businesses to have discounts for WESS students, finding student internships, the creation of a student council handbook with a master plan of everything student council has accomplished, senior merch, prom, senior trip, collaborations with WESS leaders (middle school student council), and so much more. 

Student council has a lot on its plate this year with a lot of people to serve and events to plan. But throughout all of this one thing remains constant. The legacy student council wants to leave behind, and the legacy student council wants WESS students to leave behind for classes to come. And it is not just the student council. 

 As French said, “we are all leaving a legacy behind.”