Carmen Simon ASB President September 5, 2019 ASB Formal Meeting Report (9-5-19)
Position Assessment: By September we have already done a lot. During the last school year I chose class clothing, which I think the class really likes. Over the summer we went to Core Camp where everyone was able to get into their roles and learn a lot. Then, we had Pow Wow where ASB ran a table to sell stickers and pass on other important information. ASB put on the Back To School Dance. We have also gotten started on the Tri-Tip fundraiser by making arrangements for the food and a plan to sell a ton of tickets! I have also been helping out where I am needed in committees and with classes. I am especially excited for the seniors to take on homecoming.
Special Committees: I am in the Fall Sports Rally and the Tri-Tip Fundraiser committees. For the Fall Sports Rally, I helped Natalie brainstorm ideas, communicate with our peers, and decorate. Everyone loved the rally and it was awesome to see the growth from last year to this year. We have decided on the meal we will be serving, contacted the meat, ticket, and cafeteria people, and created a plan for selling tickets. When it comes closer to the event we will need to get packaging, confirm numbers, and of course work the event.
Concerns: I am concerned with the lack of interest and participation from my peers. Everyone signs up for this class year after year, but when it comes to doing the little things they aren’t interested. There are so many times where people or myself text about things in the groupchat and the only people to ever reply are underclassmen. None of our seniors seem to want to do anything.
Positive Comment: I really appreciated what Natalie did with the Blacklight Rally. She has an amazing work ethic and she is always going above and beyond. From mixing music to putting together a makeshift sweatshop, she makes shit happen!
One Change I Would Like to See: I want to see people less tired from everything else in their life and more excited to be a positive change. I hate seeing everyone rushing through life when they could be making great times.
My Impact: I have changed our school culture by being someone everyone can talk to. I take good pride in knowing that I am a genuine supporter of anyone who comes to me. A ton of people, myself included, always talk about wanting to be a friend to all, but I finally feel like people see me as a resource. Just this month THREE strangers from Ripon High called or messaged me about personal things going on in their life that I was able to help them through.
September/October
Position Assessment: The beginning of October was busy with Homecoming. ASB was in charge of the parade, the skits and speeches rally, and we also had powderpuff. ASB has also been working to get everything ready for the Tri- Tip fundraiser. We handed out tickets and sold a little over 520 of the 600 that we passed out. Ticket collection and selling efforts did not go well. I went to Smart and Final with Jaynell to get all of the packaging and chips that we needed! We have made a plan of attack for the day of the Drive-thru so that we can be as efficient as possible. Tomorrow is the big day. We hope to have the right amount of food and be able to distribute smoothly tomorrow. nWe also had the Halloween Dance, where I helped the freshman in planning and in set up and clean up.
Standing Committees: I Am not in any standing committees but I messaged Alyssa about joining the shadowbox committee because she does not seem to have enough support.
Special Committees: I am in the Winter Senior Nights and the Tri-Tip Fundraiser committees. Winter sports have not started yet, but when the time comes for those senior nights we will be assisting Natalie in making the Senior Nights special and creating an audience. We have decided on the meal we will be serving, contacted the meat, ticket, and cafeteria people, and created a plan for selling tickets. We made groups and sold around 520 tickets. We have gotten packaging and chips for the meals. We will be getting the hoagie rolls tonight and the meat on the day of.
Concerns: I am concerned with the lack of communication and bond in the class. Things would run smoother and be more fun if we all communicated with each other and followed the CORE principle of treating each other like family. I think that we are all very caught up in our own personal problems. We are tired and so focused on other things for whatever reason. I think what we are forgetting is that leadership is supposed to be something that we do for fun and that can allow us to focus on something positive. If we begin to treat it the way it should be, I think we would be happier. We would be acting more selfless instead of selfish. While I know other people can relate, this concern is definitely a personal thing and I know that a positive change can be made if I start with myself.
Positive Comment: The freshman had a really great attitude about the dance. They knew that it would not be ultra successful like the Back to School Dance or Prom, but they worked to create a good Halloween dance. They mostly all showed up and were able to positively influence their class to come. Everyone there was super respectful and I think they had a good time.
One Change I Would Like to See: I know that if all of the upperclassmen came to the Halloween dance their friends would show up too. Any situation is what you make of it, and I understand that you cannot mandate attendance to a dance, but better attendance would surely transform the event. I also think we should spend more time highlighting successes. This would let everyone see examples of and reward good work.t.
My Impact: We had the Escalon game this week and that is a huge rivalry game. During that week the cheerleaders and football players from each school seem to be pinned against each other for no more reason than any other team. There was a tragic death of a cheerleader from Escalon over that weekend and it reminded everyone how precious life and love is. The Ripon High cheer squad created care packages for the Escalon cheer squad and showed up at the candlelight vigil. This experience showed that highschool rivalries should be focused on fun and not be taken seriously because when something serious happens it is important that we support each other. We are all human and so similar. Being there for the other cheer team was so influential
January
Position Assessment: January and the beginning of February have not been especially busy for ASB, aside from our monthly meetings, but I have been working hard at other projects and preparation for next year. I created my lesson plan for Meet the Pros about cultivating a welcoming spirit and I am so excited to go do that! Ramirez and I had a great time MCing the talent show. I also went to Colony Oak and Weston to recruit eighth graders for next year’s Leadership class. Also for next year, we interviewed every applicant for Leadership. ASB and I have started planning the additions we would like to incorporate into the Tri-tip fundraiser and the changes we want to make to the challenge. I am really excited to get to work on the challenge.
Standing Committees: The shadow box committee currently has a filled shadow box and we are working on the next round of content.
Special Committees: We have begun discussing the Tri-Tip sandwich fundraiser and we are really determined to get this class back on its feet financially. We will be incorporating soda and raising the price a little higher. We want to sell frozen pies on the day of the fundraiser. And, we will be attempting to sell even more tickets. The talent show was a big success according to the crowd, but I think we should incorporate a bake sale into it next year so that we can make some money off of it. Everyone likes food and a show and I think it could be an easy fundraiser.
Concerns: I am concerned with our lack of fundraising this year and I really hope I can turn that around throughout the end of the year. I want to make a ton of money off of tri-tip and spend less on the challenge. I also hope that we can raise a little bit of money through gallery of the arts through Ana and I’s “bar”.
Positive Comment: At first, I was concerned that there were not that many people applying to Leadership. I was sad that not that many people wanted to do it and I was wondering why, but then I realized it would probably make for a better year. I think that everyone who applied truly wants to be part of the program and agrees with the purpose of the class. I think next year will be one of the strongest years in terms of productivity.
One Change I Would Like to See: I would like to see a change in our motivation to do things as a class. I hope that with the change of weather and the New Year we are able to sell more Tri-tip tickets and be the best versions of ourselves.
My Impact: Going to the Eighth grade classrooms and preaching the positivity of Leadership to them made them so happy. Talking to these kids and getting them excited for highschool, regardless of their choice to do Leadership or not, was so heartwarming. I feel like I already got them into a positive mindset about their big transition and it also reminded me to enjoy these last few months.