THE DURANGO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT COUNCIL HOPES TO EARN ITS 10TH NATIONAL GOLD COUNCIL OF
EXCELLENCE AWARD, AND COUNCIL MEMBERS MADE THEIR CASE WITH AN IMPRESSIVE DISPLAY OF THEIR
WORK DURING THE PAST YEAR. YOU'RE WATCHING THE LOCAL NEWS NETWORK. I'M WENDY GRAHAM SETTLE.
THE DURANGO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT COUNCIL HAS BEEN NAMED A NATIONAL GOLD COUNCIL OF EXCELLENCE
BY THE NATIONAL STUDENT COUNCIL FOR NINE YEARS IN A ROW, AND NOW, THEY'RE HOPING TO KEEP
THE DESIGNATION FOR ANOTHER YEAR. THE GOLD COUNCIL OF EXCELLENCE RECOGNIZES EXTRAORDINARY
ACHIEVEMENT BY STUDENT COUNCILS THAT CONSISTENTLY PROVIDE QUALITY LEADERSHIP AND SERVICE TO
THEIR SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES.
THERE ARE ONLY AROUND 13 IN THE STATE AND 220 NATIONWIDE, SO IT'S A REALLY BIG DEAL
THAT WE'RE DOING THIS. WE'RE GOING FOR A 10TH YEAR; WE HAVE ACCOMPLISHED NINE YEARS IN A
ROW, AND WE'RE SUPER EXCITED. WE HAVE CERTAIN INDICATORS THAT WE HAVE TO FULFILL AND SO
ALL THE POSTERS YOU CAN SEE AROUND TALK ABOUT EACH INDICATOR SEPARATELY, AND SO WE CAN CHECK
OFF ALL WE NEED TO EARN.
TO EARN THE AWARD, COUNCILS MUST SHOW EVIDENCE OF 49 DIFFERENT INDICTORS THAT COVER GOVERNANCE,
POSITIVE SOCIAL CHANGE, BUILDING AWARENESS OF SOCIAL ACTIVITIES, FUND-RAISING, AND SERVICE
TO SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY. THE EXHIBIT THEY PREPARED ON JANUARY 22ND SHOWED HOW THEY MET
THE CRITERIA. DHS PRINCIPAL JON HOERL JUDGED HOW WELL THE COUNCIL MET THE CRITERIA AND
WILL FORWARD HIS FINDINGS TO THE NATIONAL STUDENT COUNCIL. AS ONE EXAMPLE OF THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
LAST YEAR, THE COUNCIL RAISED 6 THOUSAND DOLLARS FROM A DAYLONG TALENT SHOW FEATURING D H S
STUDENTS. THE MONEY WAS USED TO SUPPORT HIGH SCHOOL FAMILIES IN NEED. THE STUDENTS ALSO
SPONSORED SEVERAL COMMUNITY SERVICE EVENTS.
ANOTHER THING WE DO, IT'S CALLED BIG EVENT, WHICH IS OUR BIG COMMUNITY SERVICE EVENT FOR
THE YEAR. AND SO WE PLACE WORK-ORDER FORMS AT KROEGER'S AND IN DIFFERENT PLACES FOR,
LIKE, PEOPLE THAT ARE GOING TO BE DOING THEIR SPRING CLEANING. AND A LOT OF THE ELDERLY
PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY OR MAYBE PEOPLE THAT AREN'T ABLE TO DO THE WORK THEMSELVES, FILL
OUT THIS FORM REQUESTING HIGH SCHOOLERS TO COME. AND SO WE GO IN GROUPS OF SIX TO DIFFERENT
HOUSES AND PAINT AND PLANT FLOWERS AND SCRAPE GRAVEL, AND WHATEVER THEY NEED DONE FOR THE
SPRING CLEANING.
STUDENT COUNCIL MEMBERS SAY THEIR WORK NOT ONLY SERVES THEIR SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY, THEY
LEARN LIFELONG SKILLS LIKE ORGANIZATION, TEAM WORK, AND CONFIDENCE.
THE STUDENTS HAVE REALLY IMPROVED THEIR PUBLIC SPEAKING SKILLS AND THEY BECAME EXPERTS ON
THEIR TOPICS AND THEY REALLY WERE ABLE TO TALK TO ANYONE WHO CAME UP TO THEM ABOUT WHAT
WE'RE DOING AND FULFILLED ALL THE INDICATORS AND WERE PROPERLY REPRESENTED OUR STUDENT
COUNCIL AND EVERYTHING THAT WE DO.
SCHOOL OFFICIALS SAY A STRONG AND ACTIVE STUDENT COUNCIL LIKE DURANGO HIGH SCHOOL'S CONTRIBUTES
TO A POSITIVE AND TOLERANT SCHOOL CULTURE THAT BOOSTS STUDENT LEARNING.
IT JUST RAISES EXPECTATIONS ACROSS THE BOARD. WHEN STUDENTS SEE OTHER STUDENTS ACHIEVING
ON THIS LEVEL, IT'S CONTAGIOUS. SO, IT MAKES EVERYBODY BETTER. IT CHANGES WHAT THE TEACHERS
THINK THEY CAN DO, AND, AND JUST RAISES EXPECTATIONS ACROSS THE BOARD. SO VERY IMPRESSIVE.
WE WILL REPORT ON THE OUTCOME OF THE COUNCIL'S APPLICATION FOR THE GOLD COUNCIL OF EXCELLENCE
AWARD THIS SPRING. IN THE MEANTIME, IF YOU'D LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT STUDENT COUNCIL ACTIVITIES,
VISIT ITS FACEBOOK PAGE SLASH DURANGO STUDENT COUNCIL. THANKS FOR WATCHING THE LOCAL NEWS
NETWORK. YOU CAN FIND THIS AND OTHER LOCAL NEWS STORIES ONLINE, WHERE YOU CAN SIGN UP
FOR DAILY STORIES DELIVERED TO YOUR IN-BOX. YOU CAN ALSO CATCH US ON DURANGO CABLE CHANNEL
15, PURGATORY CHANNEL 3, OR ON OUR DIGITAL NETWORK AT VARIOUS LOCATIONS AROUND TOWN.
I'M WENDY GRAHAM SETTLE.
