An inside look at EE's Eagle Council

Nine third graders file into a room off the main office in Elbridge Elementary and find seats around a big table. They are the Eagle Council, and first on the agenda is planning events for their upcoming ‘Winter Festival.’

“You get to plan it, and then you get to do it!” exclaimed a student, eager to get working on which games will be set up for students to participate in.

Members of Eagle Council are chosen by their teachers and fellow classmates to represent the school. Students are nominated for exceptionally showcasing their SOAR values every day. The job comes with a lot of responsibility.

“When they first join, I have to tell them, ‘There may be times when you have to give up your recess, Eagle Council is a commitment,’ and every single one of them is always all for it,” explained Eagle Council leader and school counselor Nikki Bloodgood.

Eagle Council members are all third graders, the oldest students at Elbridge Elementary. They help plan school events, such as spirit weeks and school festivals, along with community events, such as food drives and Earth Day cleanups. This year, students also want to help their peers by getting into classrooms and reading to younger students. Bloodgood said that is something often brought up within meetings; these students represent the entire school, so everything they plan must work for all age groups.

“My favorite part about Eagle Council is that we get to work together,” said Eagle Council member Avery.

“My favorite part is teaching little kids things and helping them,” added Chase.

All the students agreed that they love to plan spirit weeks and seeing other students’ reactions makes them feel like they did a good job. When asked what they’ve learned being a part of the council, they agreed it has taught them how to be helpful and responsible.

“Listening to other peoples’ ideas even if you don’t agree with them is something we are working on, and voting on stuff and realizing it may not be the vote you wanted, but you can still make it great even if it’s not something you personally wanted,” added Bloodgood, about what the students learn while taking part in Eagle Council.

Eagle Council is something students look forward to leading up to third grade. It helps students learn a new set of skills, and realize that they belong as one part of a whole student-body.