Student Leadership

The goal of student leadership at Westminster is to provide students with an opportunity to serve and lead their school. There are a number of avenues to accomplish this goal. The Student Leadership Team, Class Officers, Club Officers and school committees are a few.

We believe that student leadership is an important part of our school and essential to making Westminster a school of excellence. Students are called upon to lead their peers spiritually, socially and in service. While there are formal positions available to accomplish this, each student is encouraged to lead through their actions and be part of leadership at WSA.

The ultimate goal is for leadership at our school to be inclusive. As we grow and develop as a school, we are looking to formalize the opportunities available for our student body. For the current school year, there are a number of opportunities available for those interested in Student Leadership. For the 2012-13 school year we will begin formalizing the opportunities to aid in developing a greater culture of leadership at our school. The application process for the 2012-13 school year will begin in December.

Some might ask, “what can I do to prepare for leadership?” at Westminster. The answer is simple . . . find a way to become involved in school life . . . officially or unofficially. Adopt an attitude of service and look for ways to serve others. Our aim is to provide you with a full array of opportunities in the future, but in the meantime be proactive.

If any student is interested in being involved in some aspect of student leadership at Westminster, please contact Coach Freace for guidance.

Middle School Student Leadership

A new system for developing Middle School leadership was initiated this fall. Qualifications for the Middle School Student Leadership Team were simple. “If you want to lead, we want you to lead,” said Miss Amanda Ebersole, who co-leads the program alongside Student Life Director Mike Freace. The students chose areas of interest and volunteer in one of the following capacities: Student Life, Middle School Rally Club, Prayer and Bible Study, Chapel Design, Chapel Band, Teacher Helpers/Teacher Appreciation, Campus Beautification, Events and Lower School Connection. Each group has a teacher who helps train them in areas of leadership. They have planning meetings during Middle School lunch and have developed vision statements for their particular groups.

The Student Life group has already helped with Middle School Game Night and other groups have many ideas of how to help enhance the Westminster Community. “Even though this is our first year, the kids have already been doing some really exciting things!” shared Miss Ebersole.

Below is a compilation, by team, of the tasks planned and accomplished by our Middle School leaders during the 2011-12 academic year.

Chapel Design & Band

  • Planned and executed the first solo chapel for Middle School
  • Will plan 2-3 more chapels this year
  • The Middle School band led several chapels this year

TRC

  • Designed and implemented a Middle School spirit package
  • Teamed up with Student Life team to help with the Pancake Flip
  • Planning themes for region the basketball games and for upcoming soccer games in the spring

Student Life

  • Helped with Middle School Game Night
  • Made banners and decorations for the Pancake Flip (photo gallery)
  • Planned a fun homeroom activity for the end of January

Campus Beautification

  • Planned their vision and mission statements; working on implementing

Admissions

  • Helped with a weekend admissions event in December
  • Assisted with parking at January Open House event
  • Coordinated a student speaker for the Open House
  • Wrote letters to fifth grade students about their surveys (discussing common interests)

Lower School Connections

  • Had a panel available for fifth grade visitation day
  • Helped Admissions team with letter writing to fifth grade students

Prayer/Bible Studies

  • Seventh grade Bible study has been happening all year
  • Working on developing more options for spring and for next year

Events

  • Helped with Middle School Game Night
  • Assisted with Basketball Region Tournament

Upper School Student Leadership Team (Prefects)

The Student Leadership Team (SLT) is currently made up of seniors who are chosen to lead certain aspects of school life. Each member is responsible for a specific area of school life ranging from student life to academics. All members work cohesively as a team in support of one another and ultimately are tasked with leading the student body.

The SLT is a team that is focused both on selection and development of leaders. This particular team is focused on overseeing the big picture of life at Westminster and are selected based on their ability to do that. Knowing this, past experience is a key component for our SLT members. In addition, the team undergoes leadership training and mentorship throughout the year.

Each member is assigned an adult mentor to work with him or her on leadership components and provide support throughout the year. This is an invaluable relationship as the SLT learns to lead others and learn from their experiences in leadership.

This years SLT/Prefect positions for 2011-12 are:
Head Prefect – Haley Barinowski
Academic Prefect – Catherine Zecha
Admissions Prefect – Haley Meeks
Student Life Prefects – Anna Hearon, Haleigh Swierski & Kerrie Edmondson
Chapel/Spiritual Life – Mary Elizabeth Goodell & Drew McCartney
Service – Sabrina Rush
Our current prefects maintain a blog on our website. Visit it here.

Application Process for the SLT for 2012-13:
Note: The SLT is announced in late March each year.

  • The application process will begin in early January.
  • Each applicant must fill out a complete application packet. Included in the application packet:
    1. Application Form
    2. Three references (non-family members)
    3. A strengths analysis test
    4. Attendance at an informational meeting in February
    5. An interview with a panel consisting of current students, teachers, administrators, and local leaders.

What are we looking for in our SLT leaders? A partial list of criteria include:

  • A humble spirit and willingness to serve first. Each SLT member needs to have the ability to work as a team first.
  • Willingness to lead and serve in official and unofficial ways
  • Evidence of ability to lead the student body at Westminster
  • Evidence of a relationship with God
  • A passion for leadership
  • Evidence of past leadership (official and unofficial)

Class Officers

Each class runs an election process for class officers in the spring of each year. Positions available include President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. Class deans should be contacted for more information.

Club Officers

There are a number of clubs available at Westminster. Each club elects officers annually. For more information, look at our Clubs & Organizations page. Each club has a faculty member who provides oversight. To contact a faculty member, please contact our front office.

School Committees & Teams

There are a number of teams and committees that individuals may be part of at our school. Included are student life committees, the chapel design team, academic tutoring, etc. Each member of the Student Leadership Team oversees a committee in their area of focus. For more information on becoming involved in one of our committees for the 2011-12 school year, please contact Coach Freace.