Rising Above: Highland High Fosters Future Leaders with Conference

Highland High School’s Student Council (STUCO) recently hosted a leadership conference for Greenfield Elementary School’s 4th-6th grade STUCO students. The event, held on Friday, November 15th, aimed to inspire and equip Greenfield Elementary’s students with leadership skills they can use as they continue STUCO throughout junior high and high school.

The conference focused on key leadership qualities such as effective communication, teamwork, and problem-solving. Through a series of interactive stations, elementary students engaged in activities designed to develop these leadership skills, learning the importance of active listening, clear communication, the power of gratitude, teamwork, and being a flexible leader.

Highland’s leadership conference also featured a Q&A session where elementary students could ask high school seniors about their experiences in student council, offering a valuable opportunity for the students to gain insights from seasoned leaders and learn about the positive impact they can make in their schools and communities.

“I was in STUCO at Greenfield Elementary and Greenfield Junior High, so I know the advisors and how they operate. I was able to put myself in the students’ shoes, thinking about the questions I had when I was younger, which really helped with planning the conference,” said Anna Kelly, a senior at Highland High and Student Council President.

Highland High held its leadership conference on the same day as an assembly which featured a teacher versus student dodgeball tournament.

“Because we had the assembly, the Greenfield Elementary students got to watch how our STUCO sets up and runs an event, rather than just explaining the process to them,” added Macey Compeau, the STUCO and social studies teacher at Highland High. “Plus they really enjoyed seeing teachers and students throwing dodgeballs.”

By hosting this conference, Highland High School’s Student Council not only worked to empower the next generation of leaders but also strengthened the bond between the two schools. The student council at Highland High aims to expand the leadership conference by collaborating with other high schools in the district to host larger-scale events in the future.