In past years, Marietta High School’s student council has been sponsored by a teacher,
but this year that changed. When Jennifer Jones, the high school’s new assistant
principal, found out there was an opening for the Stu-Co sponsor, she jumped at the
chance.
“Stepping into an administrative role, you don’t always get to interact with kids in a
positive way,” Jones said. “I wanted the opportunity to be involved with kids that wasn’t
through the office, and this is a way to do that.”
For Jones, who joined administration after years of teaching because she wanted to
have a wider influence, sponsoring the group is a way to put together a team and
achieve a common goal.
“When I first met with the kids, we talked about goals,” explained Jones. “The students
shared that they wanted to promote increased pride in our school. To the people in our
community, we agreed that we want to promote the great kids and great things that we
have going on here at school. People hear about the negative, but not always about the
positive, and that’s what our student council wants most to do – to be out in the
community, promoting the culture and showing people the positive climate we have here
at Marietta.”
Although she’s in the early days as sponsor, Jones and her crew have already had one
big opportunity to show others about the good things.
During a recent visit to town, Congressman Tom Cole stopped by Marietta Public
Schools for a visit. Student council and class officers from MHS were able to take
Congressman Cole on a tour of the new middle/high school building and visit with him at
a reception prepared by Mrs. Amanda Faulkenberry’s FCCLA students.
“The kids did such a great job,” remarked Jones. “I was so proud of them and
impressed with the way they conducted themselves, how poised they were and how
well they represented our school.”
While Jones is still in the early days of her involvement with the student group, there are
big plans underway. Members have expressed a desire to sponsor weekly activities for
the student body, as well as to reach out to the community to offer help in different
ways.
They plan to continue a program that was started by recent student council members –
IHOP, or Indians Helping Out People. The premise of IHOP is that the student council
will choose a fundraiser and donate those proceeds to a local cause.
“Our officers, particularly, are excited about building pride in Marietta High School and
letting the community know that there are a lot of great kids at MHS,” Jones said.
Student council officers are Dovan Bucher, President; Haylen Lowery, Vice President;
Magali Miranda, Treasurer; Talon Gomez, Secretary; and Franchesca Lopez, Public
Relations Officer.
Jones expects the brainstorming and project ideas to continue and believes that the
student council will be very active throughout this school year.
“If we desire to build a cohesive team that’s working towards a common goal, working to
provide our students a place to feel involved and serving our teachers,” stated Jones,
“that’s the best thing we can do. As for me, I’m excited to be here and serving at
Marietta, and looking forward to a great year.”