August Report
September 5, 2019
Senior Class President
Position Assessment: During the month of August my officers and I were in charge of creating and selling class apparel, which was sold during Pow Wow and Club Rush. We decided to try something new and offer hoodies in addition to crewnecks and they proved to be very popular among the students. There was a minor hiccup when ordering the clothes, but hopefully we resolved it all in the next order. We also organized Senior Sunrise on the first day of school. It went very smoothly we had donuts and juice and it seemed as though everyone was enjoying themselves while taking pictures and being with their friends.
Standing Committee: I am a part of the Council of Elders whose job is to facilitate Praises and being there for the younger members of the class. We are conducting Praises on Friday, September 6th. Personally I have been helping newer members of the class with the events we have conducted such as Class T-shirt Sales.
Special Committee: I was a part of the Black Light Rally Committee which was led by Natalie. We helped with things such as cutting up tape for phones and setting up for the rally itself. Ultimately, the rally was a huge success and probably one of the best we have had all thanks to Natalie and the amazing committee.
Concern: A concern I have about the program is how bonded our class will be. Being in the library and having a larger group makes it difficult to connect as a class because everyone tends to sit with their own class and friends. This is what can be expected but I think that the strength of our program comes from trust and forging relationships with our peers, thus it is imperative that we make efforts to get to know everyone in the class no matter their position or grade. I think that a way we can achieve closeness is by doing random seating, but also by having more bonding events and exercises. We can also do poster making in randomly assigned partners, or perhaps even try to do a buddy system where an upperclassman is partnered with a underclassman and throughout the year they can be partners on whole class work and just get to know each other similar to bigs and littles with sororities and frats.
Positive Comment: Someone who has started the year off very strong is Molly Ysit. I feel as if sometimes she is overlooked for all she does. She is always so willing to help with whatever needs to be done, she never strays from an opportunity to help. Additionally, she is always so bubbly and down to earth that makes working with her very pleasant and not feel much like work at all. Her humility sometimes shadows the effort that she truly does put into this program. Molly is not in it for the recognition or popularity, she is in it for all the right reasons and I think that she very much deserves to recognized for the time she is sacrificing.
Change: A change that I would make to the program would be having more work days. Of course, it is the beginning of the year, but as we head into our busy season I feel that work days are going to be imperative in order to relieve stress. We do need to have days dedicated to curriculum, buts very important that there is a balance.
My Impact: A core principle that I have been utilizing is Morty's all time favorite, "Respect the Unexpected." Things did not exactly go as planned with ordering the shirts, but rather than giving into the frustration we adapted and found a way to fix the problem. It's similar to the quote in the introduction of Brene Brown's book, "What stands in the way, becomes the way."
Senior Class President
Position Assessment: During the month of August my officers and I were in charge of creating and selling class apparel, which was sold during Pow Wow and Club Rush. We decided to try something new and offer hoodies in addition to crewnecks and they proved to be very popular among the students. There was a minor hiccup when ordering the clothes, but hopefully we resolved it all in the next order. We also organized Senior Sunrise on the first day of school. It went very smoothly we had donuts and juice and it seemed as though everyone was enjoying themselves while taking pictures and being with their friends.
Standing Committee: I am a part of the Council of Elders whose job is to facilitate Praises and being there for the younger members of the class. We are conducting Praises on Friday, September 6th. Personally I have been helping newer members of the class with the events we have conducted such as Class T-shirt Sales.
Special Committee: I was a part of the Black Light Rally Committee which was led by Natalie. We helped with things such as cutting up tape for phones and setting up for the rally itself. Ultimately, the rally was a huge success and probably one of the best we have had all thanks to Natalie and the amazing committee.
Concern: A concern I have about the program is how bonded our class will be. Being in the library and having a larger group makes it difficult to connect as a class because everyone tends to sit with their own class and friends. This is what can be expected but I think that the strength of our program comes from trust and forging relationships with our peers, thus it is imperative that we make efforts to get to know everyone in the class no matter their position or grade. I think that a way we can achieve closeness is by doing random seating, but also by having more bonding events and exercises. We can also do poster making in randomly assigned partners, or perhaps even try to do a buddy system where an upperclassman is partnered with a underclassman and throughout the year they can be partners on whole class work and just get to know each other similar to bigs and littles with sororities and frats.
Positive Comment: Someone who has started the year off very strong is Molly Ysit. I feel as if sometimes she is overlooked for all she does. She is always so willing to help with whatever needs to be done, she never strays from an opportunity to help. Additionally, she is always so bubbly and down to earth that makes working with her very pleasant and not feel much like work at all. Her humility sometimes shadows the effort that she truly does put into this program. Molly is not in it for the recognition or popularity, she is in it for all the right reasons and I think that she very much deserves to recognized for the time she is sacrificing.
Change: A change that I would make to the program would be having more work days. Of course, it is the beginning of the year, but as we head into our busy season I feel that work days are going to be imperative in order to relieve stress. We do need to have days dedicated to curriculum, buts very important that there is a balance.
My Impact: A core principle that I have been utilizing is Morty's all time favorite, "Respect the Unexpected." Things did not exactly go as planned with ordering the shirts, but rather than giving into the frustration we adapted and found a way to fix the problem. It's similar to the quote in the introduction of Brene Brown's book, "What stands in the way, becomes the way."
September/October Report
October 24, 2019
Senior Class President
Position Assessment: During the month of September we were working in preparation for Homecoming. We had to create a float, choreograph a lip sync, and decorate various locations on campus. This year the competition was thicker than a snicker and we did not win, however, we put up a good fight. Personally, I think that our float was pretty great especially since everything was hand made and took an obscene amount of time to create our decorations and such, but that just shows the love we put into it. Our lip sync was pretty great, I’m proud about the involvement of our class that we implemented. Usually, there is a disproportionate amount of boys and girls who help, but we had two acts of just boys which was very radical and greatened the vibe of senior season. Our song choices were A1 as well, we really threw down that hoedown. Ultimately, we may not have won, but it was a really successful year and I am super happy with the spirit, involvement, and effort put forth by all the classes especially the class of 2020.
Standing Committee: I am a part of the Council of Elders and in the month of September we did a round of praises. In October we are doing a different form of reflective bonding. Our class is going through a bit of a rough patch and we are not performing our best so instead of going around and saying compliments we need to look at ourselves and see how we can improve individually and as a class, and the goal of the new exercise, Fortune Fates, will facilitate this dialogue.
Special Committee: In October we had the Kyoto Cultural Exchange Experience. Thirty-four students from Kyoto, as well as their administrators, came to Ripon High School. Since Molly and I were in charge we had to prepare for the day they came to school and plan a banquet for the students and host families. To prepare for their visit to the school, we organized a breakfast for the Kyoto teachers and had a lunch for the students. The main focus of the day was the rally where the Kyoto students did some performances as well as organizations at Ripon High such as cheer, choir, and the Korean Culture Club. For the banquet, Molly and I organized a cultural potluck and asked the Leadership class and host families to bring dishes for the kids to try. There were also games brought and it was a fun time for the students and families from both Kyoto and Ripon to spend time together before they left the following morning. It was a great week filled with memories and new connections.
Concern: A concern that I have for the class is communication. There seem to be many problems within multiple groups in the class and the underlying foundation for most is the lack of effective communication. In a class that is reliant on teamwork, we need to be able to speak and inform each other in effective and kind ways. Without this ability, we will be spending more of our time repairing the damage done rather than focusing our energy on creating fun and beneficial events for the school. Communication is something that is essential in every aspect of life so by dealing with this problem we will not only be helping our class as a whole but hopefully also gain skills to handle problems down the road that stem from communication or lack thereof.
Positive Comment: I think that Darius has been doing a great job. His gratitude video and beautiful movement project was amazing and he did a fantastic job. Darius is also always willing to help out whenever and rather than complaining he just makes a funny comment and gets to work. He was a great help during Homecoming and Kyoto and always shows up even when it’s not directly in his job description.
One Change: One change that I would like to see in class is more of an awareness of how we’re treating our peers. I myself am guilty of not acting how I should. It’s a stressful class and its easy to get consumed, however, we can not allow that to take it out on those in the class. We need to remember that no matter what your title or “rank” is we are all just high school students in a high school class, no one is more special than anyone else and though rank is important for some things, it does not warrant anyone to treat someone poorly. At the end of the day, we are all weird hormonal teenagers who don’t really know what’s going on.
My Impact: If I am being honest I feel like I have not been living any core principles well enough to write about. These last two months have been very stressful and difficult and though things are getting better I did not handle them in a very healthy way. Homecoming, Kyoto, college applications, school, trying to find a job, and my sister leaving really took a toll on me and lets just say that there were many sleepless nights and tears. I have also just been ultimately feeling like a disappointment and like I am losing the attributes that I used to pride myself in. Senior season has been a little rough, but the only way to get through it is to get through it so as October closes and November begins my goal is to improve my life as a whole. It’s a pretty large goal but as the saying goes, you have to shoot for the moon because that way even if you fail you land among the stars.
Senior Class President
Position Assessment: During the month of September we were working in preparation for Homecoming. We had to create a float, choreograph a lip sync, and decorate various locations on campus. This year the competition was thicker than a snicker and we did not win, however, we put up a good fight. Personally, I think that our float was pretty great especially since everything was hand made and took an obscene amount of time to create our decorations and such, but that just shows the love we put into it. Our lip sync was pretty great, I’m proud about the involvement of our class that we implemented. Usually, there is a disproportionate amount of boys and girls who help, but we had two acts of just boys which was very radical and greatened the vibe of senior season. Our song choices were A1 as well, we really threw down that hoedown. Ultimately, we may not have won, but it was a really successful year and I am super happy with the spirit, involvement, and effort put forth by all the classes especially the class of 2020.
Standing Committee: I am a part of the Council of Elders and in the month of September we did a round of praises. In October we are doing a different form of reflective bonding. Our class is going through a bit of a rough patch and we are not performing our best so instead of going around and saying compliments we need to look at ourselves and see how we can improve individually and as a class, and the goal of the new exercise, Fortune Fates, will facilitate this dialogue.
Special Committee: In October we had the Kyoto Cultural Exchange Experience. Thirty-four students from Kyoto, as well as their administrators, came to Ripon High School. Since Molly and I were in charge we had to prepare for the day they came to school and plan a banquet for the students and host families. To prepare for their visit to the school, we organized a breakfast for the Kyoto teachers and had a lunch for the students. The main focus of the day was the rally where the Kyoto students did some performances as well as organizations at Ripon High such as cheer, choir, and the Korean Culture Club. For the banquet, Molly and I organized a cultural potluck and asked the Leadership class and host families to bring dishes for the kids to try. There were also games brought and it was a fun time for the students and families from both Kyoto and Ripon to spend time together before they left the following morning. It was a great week filled with memories and new connections.
Concern: A concern that I have for the class is communication. There seem to be many problems within multiple groups in the class and the underlying foundation for most is the lack of effective communication. In a class that is reliant on teamwork, we need to be able to speak and inform each other in effective and kind ways. Without this ability, we will be spending more of our time repairing the damage done rather than focusing our energy on creating fun and beneficial events for the school. Communication is something that is essential in every aspect of life so by dealing with this problem we will not only be helping our class as a whole but hopefully also gain skills to handle problems down the road that stem from communication or lack thereof.
Positive Comment: I think that Darius has been doing a great job. His gratitude video and beautiful movement project was amazing and he did a fantastic job. Darius is also always willing to help out whenever and rather than complaining he just makes a funny comment and gets to work. He was a great help during Homecoming and Kyoto and always shows up even when it’s not directly in his job description.
One Change: One change that I would like to see in class is more of an awareness of how we’re treating our peers. I myself am guilty of not acting how I should. It’s a stressful class and its easy to get consumed, however, we can not allow that to take it out on those in the class. We need to remember that no matter what your title or “rank” is we are all just high school students in a high school class, no one is more special than anyone else and though rank is important for some things, it does not warrant anyone to treat someone poorly. At the end of the day, we are all weird hormonal teenagers who don’t really know what’s going on.
My Impact: If I am being honest I feel like I have not been living any core principles well enough to write about. These last two months have been very stressful and difficult and though things are getting better I did not handle them in a very healthy way. Homecoming, Kyoto, college applications, school, trying to find a job, and my sister leaving really took a toll on me and lets just say that there were many sleepless nights and tears. I have also just been ultimately feeling like a disappointment and like I am losing the attributes that I used to pride myself in. Senior season has been a little rough, but the only way to get through it is to get through it so as October closes and November begins my goal is to improve my life as a whole. It’s a pretty large goal but as the saying goes, you have to shoot for the moon because that way even if you fail you land among the stars.
November/December Report
Senior Class President
December 16, 2019
Position Assessment: The Senior Class’s most recent class event was preparing a tree for the Holiday Night Rally Competition. We decided to ask some seniors to send baby pictures and a brief description of what they want to do in the future. We then turned them into ornaments and put them on the tree along with graduation tassels and mini diplomas. To top the tree we put a graduation cap. We are also planning Winterfest, both in terms of class activities and the event as a whole. We have secured a window and are in the process of getting our cart and preparing all of our ideas. We have also been figuring out newer aspects of the week and planning we are incorporating the basketball game and focusing on school spirit.
Standing Committee: I am a part of the Council of Elders and we have not done praised for a while, but with the end of the semester coming up we will most likely start a round when we return from break. The goal of praises is to allow people to commend others in the program and shine a light on all the achievements and positive impressions people make on others.
Special Committee: I am a part of the Valentine’s Day Special Committee. I am partnered up with Nico and we have to cut 50 hearts as a pair. Later we will receive a list of students and write their names on each heart along with a nice message.
Concern: One thing that concerns me in the program is the lack of class mixing. It seems that every class sits with their own and not many people branch out in class to talk to others, I try to but I also know that I can do more. We should have some more bonding activities or even just switch up seating. Not necessarily by making it so there’s one type of position in each group but just having people sit by people they usually don’t.
Positive: Someone in our class who has been doing a great job is Kate Villegas. Kate never fails to show up to class every day with a positive attitude and a strong work ethic. She is always trying her best and has done a fantastic job in her position and being a true leader in the class. Kate never shies away from talking to others and making all feel welcomed and I truly think that she is such a strong pillar of this program.
Change: One thing that I would like to see changed in this program is more workdays so that we can have more time to plan and prep for all the upcoming events especially with the business of what is to come in the following months. We are constantly busy and everyone should always have something to be doing when given time to work in class.
My Impact: One core principle that I have been trying to live by more is, “Being Mindful of the Self.” Stressful times are approaching fast and I need to remember is to take time and care for myself among all the chaos. I cannot work to my fullest potential if I am only giving myself half the resources I need so I am trying to be more in tune with my needs not just in a physical health sense, but also in terms of my mental health.
December 16, 2019
Position Assessment: The Senior Class’s most recent class event was preparing a tree for the Holiday Night Rally Competition. We decided to ask some seniors to send baby pictures and a brief description of what they want to do in the future. We then turned them into ornaments and put them on the tree along with graduation tassels and mini diplomas. To top the tree we put a graduation cap. We are also planning Winterfest, both in terms of class activities and the event as a whole. We have secured a window and are in the process of getting our cart and preparing all of our ideas. We have also been figuring out newer aspects of the week and planning we are incorporating the basketball game and focusing on school spirit.
Standing Committee: I am a part of the Council of Elders and we have not done praised for a while, but with the end of the semester coming up we will most likely start a round when we return from break. The goal of praises is to allow people to commend others in the program and shine a light on all the achievements and positive impressions people make on others.
Special Committee: I am a part of the Valentine’s Day Special Committee. I am partnered up with Nico and we have to cut 50 hearts as a pair. Later we will receive a list of students and write their names on each heart along with a nice message.
Concern: One thing that concerns me in the program is the lack of class mixing. It seems that every class sits with their own and not many people branch out in class to talk to others, I try to but I also know that I can do more. We should have some more bonding activities or even just switch up seating. Not necessarily by making it so there’s one type of position in each group but just having people sit by people they usually don’t.
Positive: Someone in our class who has been doing a great job is Kate Villegas. Kate never fails to show up to class every day with a positive attitude and a strong work ethic. She is always trying her best and has done a fantastic job in her position and being a true leader in the class. Kate never shies away from talking to others and making all feel welcomed and I truly think that she is such a strong pillar of this program.
Change: One thing that I would like to see changed in this program is more workdays so that we can have more time to plan and prep for all the upcoming events especially with the business of what is to come in the following months. We are constantly busy and everyone should always have something to be doing when given time to work in class.
My Impact: One core principle that I have been trying to live by more is, “Being Mindful of the Self.” Stressful times are approaching fast and I need to remember is to take time and care for myself among all the chaos. I cannot work to my fullest potential if I am only giving myself half the resources I need so I am trying to be more in tune with my needs not just in a physical health sense, but also in terms of my mental health.
January/February Report
Position Assessment: In the month of January the Senior Officers were in charge of not only our class affairs for Winterfest, but Winterfest as a whole. We revamped the week as a whole and it was pretty successful overall. The new elements included a coronation during a basketball game, a kickoff rally instead of having it at the end, and a candidate spirit competition. The seniors ended up winning overall because of our amazing spirit, but I will concede that the juniors did have an awesome cart. Now we are working on our senior gift, we just had a meeting and our first workday will be on Monday, February 17th.
Standing Committee: I am a part of the Council of Elders and we have not done praised for a while, but with the end of a major event like Winterfest and as our last quarter approaches I hope to do some soon. The goal of praises is to allow people to commend others in the program and shine a light on all the achievements and positive impressions people make on others.
Special Committee: I am a part of the Valentine’s Day Special Committee. I am partnered up with Nico and we cut out 50 hearts and wrote the names of various students and nice messages. We put the hearts on the E building at 8 a.m. on February 12th. Students loved finding their hearts and it was a great way to spread some love on campus.
Concern: One thing that concerns me in the program is the lack of class mixing. It seems that every class sits with their own and not many people branch out in class to talk to others, I try to but I also know that I can do more. We should have some more bonding activities or even just switch up seating. Not necessarily by making it so there’s one type of position in each group but just having people sit by people they usually don’t.
Positive Comment: Someone who definitely deserves more recognition is Anthony Sausedo. He is a silent hard worker and he did a great job as a trainee for the Talent Show. He is always willing to help and does exactly what needs to be done no matter how busy he is. His ability to balance all his activities and responsibilities is truly noteworthy.
Change: One thing that I would like to see more of in the class is more team-oriented activities. Doing the bonding exercise last week was so much fun and just a way for us to grow even closer and I feel that it is very important to foster connections within our program so that we can do the same in the school.
My Impact: Again, this month I have been living by the core principle of “Being Mindful of the Self.” For about the last year my mental health has been declining and this last month I finally took off my blinders and I addressed what I was afraid to be true. I am now taking active strides to be more physically and mentally healthy and so far it is paying off. There have been bumps, but that comes with anything that is difficult. For the first time in a long time, I am feeling truly optimistic that the happiness I am feeling will stick.
Standing Committee: I am a part of the Council of Elders and we have not done praised for a while, but with the end of a major event like Winterfest and as our last quarter approaches I hope to do some soon. The goal of praises is to allow people to commend others in the program and shine a light on all the achievements and positive impressions people make on others.
Special Committee: I am a part of the Valentine’s Day Special Committee. I am partnered up with Nico and we cut out 50 hearts and wrote the names of various students and nice messages. We put the hearts on the E building at 8 a.m. on February 12th. Students loved finding their hearts and it was a great way to spread some love on campus.
Concern: One thing that concerns me in the program is the lack of class mixing. It seems that every class sits with their own and not many people branch out in class to talk to others, I try to but I also know that I can do more. We should have some more bonding activities or even just switch up seating. Not necessarily by making it so there’s one type of position in each group but just having people sit by people they usually don’t.
Positive Comment: Someone who definitely deserves more recognition is Anthony Sausedo. He is a silent hard worker and he did a great job as a trainee for the Talent Show. He is always willing to help and does exactly what needs to be done no matter how busy he is. His ability to balance all his activities and responsibilities is truly noteworthy.
Change: One thing that I would like to see more of in the class is more team-oriented activities. Doing the bonding exercise last week was so much fun and just a way for us to grow even closer and I feel that it is very important to foster connections within our program so that we can do the same in the school.
My Impact: Again, this month I have been living by the core principle of “Being Mindful of the Self.” For about the last year my mental health has been declining and this last month I finally took off my blinders and I addressed what I was afraid to be true. I am now taking active strides to be more physically and mentally healthy and so far it is paying off. There have been bumps, but that comes with anything that is difficult. For the first time in a long time, I am feeling truly optimistic that the happiness I am feeling will stick.