This year, Leadership Team training will take place on the day before each freshman follow up which will be during seminar in Gym A.

There will be training on the following dates: Sept. 9, Oct. 8, Nov. 5 and Dec. 5. Follow ups with the freshmen will be on Sept.10, Oct.9, Nov.6 and Dec. 6.

At the beginning of the year this group helps the freshmen get used to the building.

“The Leadership Team hosts the New Student Orientation in August,” Counselor Sherri Matlock said. “They  help organize the day by handing out schedules and maps, color-coding maps, making name tags, taking new students from session to session, assisting them in the hallways when they find their classes and giving out t-shirts and ice cream.”

Leadership team is also in charge of doing follow up sessions with the freshmen. These sessions occur once a month for the first semester.

“The goal of the follow up sessions is to make a connection with our freshmen and provide information to them that is valuable for them to know,” Matlock said. “A few of the things that they talk about are homecoming activities; the importance of being involved at school, how earning credits gets you a diploma, how grade point average is important, how to start their resume and finishing the semester strong.”

Only choice students are allowed to be part of this team.

At the end of each school year, teachers submit the names of a few students who exhibit leadership skills in their clubs or classes. The team then meets to choose who will be a part of the team for the following year. The Leadership team consists of juniors and seniors.

This year there are 55 members, 15 of them have been on Leadership team before.

Matlock believes that this year’s Leadership Team has been very well selected.

“They are awesome,” Matlock said. “Orientation went very well thanks to them.  I’ve had members coming in to our office off and on this week helping to get ready for their first follow up session.  If I send out an e-mail that we need help with something, they give their time and get things done.  Also, they do not get to pick the team that they are on and they do not complain about it.  That is what makes them leaders. They can get along with everyone and they are willing to do what is expected of them and then some.”

16bmathias@usd489.com