Pillar Spotlight #12: Students take ACTion in Student Government Association @Caliber: Beta Academy!

Read all about how two middle school students at Caliber: Beta Academy Upper School are taking ACTion through the Student Government Association!

Student Government Association of Caliber Beta academy is democratically elected group of students and is run on the principles of leadership and stewardship for the Caliber community. Students within SGA embody the Pillar of ACT by assisting with daily responsibilities and operations of the school, they fund raise and plan for student activities, and they organize events for the community at large.  
- Michelle Cardenas, Upper School Assistant Principal @Caliber: Beta Academy 


A recent interview with Zhyier Rivers (8th) and Brandon Blackmore (7th) 
Tell me more about SGA (Student Government Association) and your role in it: 
Brandon: It stands for Student Government Association. Students drafted the constitution and this basically lists our rules during meetings. We have the “one mic” rule and it allows us to respect what each other is saying. The meetings take place every morning at 8 am and there are about 15 students who are involved. I am the advisory representative!
Zhyier: "Last year, Ms. Cardenas presented what SGA was during advisory and I decided to join. It sounded like a club where students get to talk about things that affect us at Caliber. That's why I decided to join and now I am SGA's secretary."

Tell me, why do you think it’s important to have student government?
Brandon: "As a representative for my advisory, I think it’s important for someone to speak up about the needs of what students want and I can be their voice."
Zhyier: "It’s important because it allows students to have a voice about what happens in the school. Students get to take on responsibilities that we otherwise wouldn’t. They might want to take on politics in the future and this is a great start.
Brandon:"The experience you get from it- like when you apply to high school and they see you were involved in middle school, that says something good about you. You get to build leadership skills before you get to high school!" "

Tell me more about the types of things you do or talk about in SGA: 
Brandon: "We talk about planning dances, and advisory competition like door decorations. It's always based on the season. Last year, we had an ugly Christmas sweater competition! We also talk about potentially opening a school store, having healthy snacks and school supplies for students. We were talking about this because people used to sneak in candy and sell it on the low, but we wanted to make money for the school and sell healthy things.

How is this project related to the ACT pillar?
Zhyier: It's related to the ACT pillar because we take ACTion on things that matter to us! You are taking Actions by speaking up for students. 
Brandon: "Taking ACTion means you also take on responsibilities. Every morning a student from SGA volunteers to collect cell phones and puts these in Yonder pouches. This is an ACT to make sure students are focused in class!" 

If you could share one piece of wisdom or insight related to this Pillar what would it be?
Zhyier:  "Having a voice matters" 
Brandon: "If you see something, say something."