School Culture Committee - 12/3/09

Today was the first meeting of the year for the School Culture Committee. A few weeks ago, we were all assigned to review the data gathered from the HSSSE Surveys that were administered last spring. I diligently reviewed them and prepared for our discussion in the meeting today.

Three of the eight members of the Committee were absent for the meeting, but we continued as planned. The major point of this first meeting was to review what the eight members had ranked as the most important data gathered from the HSSSE survey. We ranked the vast majority of the questions as important, so the 31 most popular questions were chosen to review. The Committee hoped that these questions would help contain the focus on what is most essential for defining the culture of the school. So we reviewed and assessed each of the 31 questions, adding insights and interesting observations to the conversation.

I think I contributed greatly to the meeting. Because the survey was taken by the students of the school, the opinions of Blake Tower and I, the only two students in the Committee, was highly valuable to understanding and interpreting some of the results. I love being able to have such influential contributions to the Committee that are respected by all the members. It is certainly difficult to try to decipher the culture of the school, but when all the members collaborate and share opinions, the impossible task seems easier.

Mr. Hieser assigned us to review the rest of the questions for next time and mark anything interesting. The School Culture Committee is definitely a great group to be a part of. It helps me to develop new skills in social studies, which could be very beneficial for my future, depending on what my career path will be.