Lexy: Hello board and community members! Olivia and I have some exciting news from the past couple of months. This month we were able to add our Student Leader Luncheon information, giving you guys access to opinions directly from the students. We also will be talking about some fun events that have happened recently.
Olivia: Getting right into it, BASH had their Wish Week. Wish Week is a student council event where BASH students enter their wishes, and some lucky students have their wishes granted. These wishes could be like Chick-fil-a nuggets, Wawa coffee, extra credit, or anything not too crazy.
Lexy: Also, ROTC did participate in the holiday open house for the Boyertown Historical Society. ROTC goes around to multiple businesses in Boyertown to help out with their events. The students love to help out their community!
Lexy: We would also like to congratulate everyone who helped put together the fall play "Salem's Daughter"! I went to see the show, and from the stage crew to the set helpers to the actors, everything was perfect. Great job to everyone involved. It was an amazing play!
Olivia: In order to fulfill our duties by providing the board with opinions and information directly from students, one means we use is luncheons. These meetings include several students, and Dr. Foley is in attendance over their lunch period. Lexy and I formulate a variety of questions and offer them in a discussion forum. This is a brief summary of our latest get-together at BASH on November 22nd of this year. In comparing the current learning experience with that of pre-pandemic learning, the students' responses were generally positive. Some felt we are back to 'normal', finding recorded lectures being posted a benefit to making up missed work. Others felt the urgency to get assignments completed was lacking, having too much flexibility and structure in classes. Asking what areas the students felt BASD excelled in, the counseling department was highlighted in their efforts to assist in preparation for graduation and beyond. The extracurricular offerings/opportunities, both academic as well as athletic, were also appreciated.
Lexy: One other topic we discussed was the required literature in BASD's curriculum. While acknowledging the value of the life lessons presented in the studies, the writing and specific social situations seem outdated and difficult to relate to. Noting there are more contemporary authors that have the ability to present equally valuable content in a more relatable storyline. Many of the contemporary authors address, or write from the perspective of different ethnicities and /or other marginalized members/groups in our community. With the volatile social environment, these perspectives are a great concern to our students. They own the desire to learn and understand each other in an effort to break down the barriers causing separation. Respect, given and received by students, was our last topic of conversation. Respect to and from teachers and administrators was felt to be mutual. A desire to learn more about our security staff was expressed while acknowledging the significant effort they put forth in protecting us all.
Olivia: Respect from peers was another story altogether. It seemed to be situational, if not location-based. In the halls and public areas, generally less orderly, there was felt to be little to no mutual respect between students. Rude and inappropriate behavior and talk being the rule. When in a class or other more structured environment, the conversations and behaviors seem to hold more sensitivity for others. This being another example of that mutual respect for teachers.
Lexy: Thank you all for listening, and we hope you have a good night!
