JUNIOR HIGH STUCO HAD AN ENJOYABLE YEAR

Adviser Kyle Mabuce will take nothing but good memories from the 1999-2000 Jackson Junior High Student Council.

"This was a group of very special kids," Mabuce said. " They had a lot of fun together, working in concession stands, cleaning up at school and at meetings and other activities."

"It was a great group to work with," agreed Mitchell Casteel, StuCo president. "They're hard workers and fun to be around."

This year the council held a canned food drive in conjunction with the Elks Lodge and put on Teacher's Appreciation Week, in which each faculty member was given a briefcase with "Jackson Junior High School" monogrammed on it. Other projects included cleaning up the school grounds and helping set up dances. The group also got to go to Six Flags recently.

"Our sponsors were enjoyable to be around," Casteel said. "They were outstanding."

Eighth grade representative Justin Gibbs called Mabuce and fellow adviser Alan Bruns "excellent role models."

"We've had a very good Student Council," Mabuce said. "It's a collection of great personalities and hard workers. The Six Flags trips really helped draw them even closer together. They're a very tight-knit group of kids."

The Student Council is made up of 12 freshmen representatives and eight eighth grade reps. They are elected by the student body at the beginning of each school year. Like many smaller cities, the elected members then vote on their own officers. This keeps the leadership positions from becoming a popularity contest, Mabuce explained.

"Instead of a popularity contest, this way it's the ones who really deserve the job," he said, noting that the student leaders get a chance to work together early in the school year, without officers. That way they know who among them are most likely to be dependable leaders.

Assisting Casteel were Vice President Matt Litzenfelner, Secretary Paige Pylate and Treasurer Kristen Howard.

"They worked really well together," Mabuce said. "A couple of them really did more than the job demanded of them. I really highly praise them for their dedication.