Generation Z has been thought to produce some of the most pragmatic and independent individuals as well as those who just want to be heard. Kingswood Oxford is doing a tremendous job keeping up with the times by listening to this age group through the new Middle School Leadership Council.
This council is the middle school equivalent to the Upper School Leadership Council which helps to empower KO’s students and make change in both parts of the school. The middle school has two branches to the council; one with Upper Prep and Form 1 students and the other with solely Form 2 students.
The middle school council is lucky to be run by the Associate Head of the Middle School, Kathy Dunn. “I wanted to try to come up with a group that would really try to develop leadership skills in students who are interested in doing that and it was really important to me to have it not be something that had like speeches and an election,” she said.
Mrs. Dunn approached the leadership council differently from years past. To switch things up, she established an application process. This way selections were fair, honest, and ultimately had people who wanted to benefit the school.
Eighth grade council members Eli Somberg and Brigette Russell believe the council has not only challenged them but also brought out some of their greatest skills. Brigette said it helped her develop as a person, a leader, and as a student. Eli agrees with that sentiment and added“I think it’s definitely been beneficial to me because joining it, I’ve learned that I should speak up about my opinions more often to initiate a change.”.
The council has done many things so far that Mrs. Dunn is particularly proud of. “So like the minute to win it at the assemblies, we’re working on another activity with the “up the fun” kind of nature with the other group, the Form 1 and Upper Prep group. There was [also] the activity to commemorate the Native American Heritage month that the younger kids did, and then we went and did that workshop with [upper school math teacher] Ms. [Sandy] Goss last week,” Mrs. Dunn said.
Even with these activities, these council members also see some great things in the near future for the council. “ I would love ultimately to see the council actually run programming for other students,” Mrs. Dunn said. While she is unsure of what that would look like in the future, she thinks it would start a great chain of events for KO.
“I definitely see making more changes in the future to make the middle school a better place,” said Eli.
