Growing Leadership at Garlough

As the district's elementary environmental magnet school, Garlough is used to growing many things—from trees to native plants and more. One new element students are growing this year is leadership skills through a newly formed fourth-grade student council. The student council is part of the school's new Social Emotional Learning (SEL) initiative that promotes caring relationships, student engagement, and leadership opportunities.

The student council members were nominated by their peers back in third grade so they could begin their good work on the first day of school with the kindergartners this September. These new student ambassadors came to school a day early and got right to work building relationships with the kindergarteners. They spent the school day helping the young students find their classrooms, open food packages at breakfast, and learn how to sort their trash when they were done. They even demonstrated safe playground play for recess. The first day of kindergarten is full of new routines and experiences, and having the fourth-grade student ambassadors created a feeling of support and confidence for the younger students.

While the kindergarten students were in class, the fourth graders were busy making videos for the rest of the school, showing Garlough's expectations, shared in classrooms the first week of school. The plans for the Garlough Student Council include helping with morning announcements and training other fourth-grade students, monthly assembly participation, and school-wide incentive challenges.

Please help us congratulate these students for their leadership and for showing their peers how to create a positive learning environment for all.