MILL HALL — School safety is a top priority for students at Central Mountain High School.
That was a key focus, student representative Claire Bowman told the Keystone Central School District board during Thursday night’s voting session.
Bowman, a senior at CMHS, was one of many who provided an update on student government efforts taking place in the district’s secondary schools.
“Our first honest conversation has to be about school safety,” Bowman said. “Many students, teachers, and parents have articulated concerns about safety in their buildings, from going to the bathroom to eating lunch safely or simply walking through the hallways.”
Bowman noted that there have been “numerous altercations within the building” in recent weeks and said the altercations “continue to escalate.”
“We don’t believe students should walk into school feeling unsafe or feeling like they have to watch their backs,” she said.
Bowman noted that banning cell phones is not the answer to these problems and encouraged the board to consider other options.
“Schools should encourage learning, not fear,” she says.
Bowman encouraged officers to come to CMHS, walk the halls and talk to people.
“Talk to students, talk to teachers, find out first-hand what’s going on in the building,” Bowman said. “We feel it is extremely valuable to our student body to know who you are and how you and your vote directly impact us.”
“Through open communication, we hope that your decisions continue to create a lasting and positive experience for all of us and our communities,” Bowman concluded.
Student safety at CMHS has been a topic of discussion since students came before the board in February 2023. The situation received further public attention in March when a female student allegedly violently punched another student.
Since then, the board has taken steps to implement new safety measures, including updating the district’s cell phone policy and potentially installing devices in restrooms, where the majority of incidents occur. This would help monitor the area without violating student etiquette. Privacy for teachers and staff.
The board also heard an update on student government activities at CMHS from Junior Jonas Muddle.
“At the last student council meeting, we fixed some of the most pressing issues, including creating new specifications for speakers, naming voting bodies, determining the number of representatives in each grade, and what to do if a member is absent. I either quit or face disciplinary action,” Jonas said.
Jonas said members of the student government plan to travel to Harrisburg on Friday to tour the Capitol building with representatives from state Sen. Chris Dash’s office. After Jonas’ tour, the students will visit the Pennsylvania State Museum, he said.
“We look forward to visiting the Capitol in person and meeting the staff of our local senators,” he said.
In school-wide news, Jonas told the board that CMHS has a variety of student activities going on, including winter sports and theater club auditions.
“We are planning a Christmas celebration and spirit week across all our properties for the last week before the Christmas and New Year holidays begin,” he said.
Bucktail student representative Martin Lewis was unable to attend Thursday’s assembly due to illness, so Principal James Poreto read an update from Lewis on his behalf.
“Martin was really sorry he couldn’t come. He stopped by yesterday to talk to me about it and then emailed me today to make sure everything was being taken care of,” Poreto said. said.
According to an update from Martin, the student council held a school-wide positive behavior event at the end of the first quarter.
Students who practiced the five pillars of safety, responsibility, respect, kindness, and professionalism were given a choice of several different activities to start their day. Students then participated in a winter sports pep rally at the end of the day.
According to an update from Martin, the student council will be introducing fries on Friday, and “students will be able to redeem reward points for a chance to win a drawing.” Every Friday, five of her students’ names are drawn for a chance to win free cafeteria fries. ”
The Bucktail Yearbook Club will also be holding its annual Christmas auction soon.
“Each year, the Yearbook Club auctions donated items to raise funds for the production and purchase of yearbooks,” Poreto read.
On Dec. 14, Bucktail will hold its annual Christmas concert, featuring instrumental performances by a 12-piece high school band and more than 40 elementary school bands.
Lewis’ update also acknowledged that something new happened in Bucktail’s cafeteria.
“This month we are adding a new wrap station to Bucktail’s cafeteria,” Poreto read. “When the student council first brainstormed an issue, the first thing that came to mind was school lunches.”
In collaboration with Poreto and Food Services, the wrap station was created and implemented this week, according to an update from Lewis.
The board also heard an update on the status of student council implementation from Central Mountain Middle School Principal Dave Romanishin.
Romanishin told the board that CMMS is in the early stages of forming its own government.
“Mrs. (Victoria) Welch, one of our eighth grade math teachers, and I are looking at the standards and what that will look like in middle school,” he said.
Romanishin said the school has an existing organization of student groups that prepare for dances and other activities, but no government organization.
“We communicated with teachers and told them what we were looking for: high academic performance, few if any past behavioral problems, and demonstrated leadership qualities. , being a student who is generally seen as a role model for other students,” he said. .
Teachers provided Romanisyn and Welch with a list of students and met with each student on Thursday.
“(We) asked them questions to see if they were interested and let them know what they were interested in,” he said. “We are now in the process of selecting four students and holding our first meeting at December Club Day, which is just two weeks away,” he said.
Romanishin said he hopes to provide an update to the board in January or February at the latest.
Following the presentation, Superintendent Dr. Jacqueline Martin spoke about the student government program’s progress over the past year.
“I would call this a board-to-classroom approach, starting with board policies, then considering student government policies and administrative regulations, and then working with staff and students in secondary buildings. , tried to move forward to achieve the next goal.”We also have student representatives,” Martin said.
Martin said further final steps need to be taken, including what the role of student government representatives at board meetings will be.
Board Chairman James “Butch” Knauf suggested adding a subheading to the board’s agenda update.
“I think we can add another spot (on the agenda) after the superintendent’s report to the student representatives is submitted,” he said. “I want you to talk about what’s going on at school.”
“We definitely need to hear from them. I like the idea of maybe coming to a student council meeting or something…let’s get our faces known,” he concluded. I did.