As the school year draws to a close, class representatives in seventh, eighth and 10th grade said they did their utmost to make this year the best it could be.

Sixth grade representative Hana Cho describes the school year as having “ups and downs.” Since starting middle school in the fall, Cho was elected as one of three class reps and worked to make the best of the situation by instilling spirit in her grade. 

“Being a class [representative] was a little weird at the beginning of the school year. It was a little difficult because we had to adjust to [being in] middle school,” Cho said. “It must have been really hard for [my classmates] to adjust, especially since we were on Zoom, which isn’t always as fun as being in person.” 

Cho said that she prefers carrying out her duties as a class rep in person compared to on Zoom because she can sense the class spirit, which motivates her to lead the grade and run for class rep in future years.  

“It’s super fun being a class rep. Everybody’s super enthusiastic about everything we do. It’s a dream,” Cho said. “My favorite part about it is being able to organize so many different events for Archer and [connecting] with my fellow sixth graders.” 

Similarly to Cho, it was eighth grader Bryce Collis’ first year on Student Council. As a middle schooler, Collis said she watched as the class representatives set an example for others and knew she wanted to be a part of that process. 

“I thought it would be really fun to organize events to make my grade happy like Archella or Spirit Week activities,” Collis said. “It makes me happy to know that I’m creating fun activities for the grade to enjoy.”

Throughout the year, Collis planned numerous events, such as flash mobs during middle school meetings, a remote scavenger hunt and a virtual escape room. Along with the planning process, Collis said how much she enjoyed the time spent drafting ideas. 

“I think a lot of the time, [the best part is] the behind the scenes stuff where we just get to have fun with brainstorming and communicating,” Collis said. “Getting to see people dancing, laughing and having a good time.”

After experiencing her first year as a class rep, Sophomore Rose Chuck expressed her excitement to be a part of Student Council, which she had wanted to join since first entering Archer in middle school. Chuck had to think of new ways to encourage grade level connection while adhering to COVID-19 guidelines.

“We had to find other ways to plan for our grade events, and it didn’t always work out,” Chuck said. “But I enjoyed going to meetings and doing the work.”

Chuck said Student Council is the basis of the Archer community coming together. She believes there needs to be more communication throughout the school and for everyone to come together as one. 

“I think the purpose of the StuCo — well, it’s promoted as the bridge between the student body and the teachers and faculty,” Chuck said. “I think that there needs to be more of that and being able to communicate what [students’] needs are.”

Cho has already begun to consider what kinds of activities she would like to do in the coming years if re-elected in the Student Council elections next week for grades 7-twelve. She said she wants to ensure that her classmates have a good time and form bonds with one another, particularly due to the extensive time they have spent on Zoom this past year.

“I want to do more in-person activities like Goose Chases because I noticed that, in my grade particularly, people were really engaged,” Cho said. 

Despite the challenges COVID-19 presented, such as limited opportunities for grade level connection, class representatives tried to encourage spirit and a sense of community within their grades. 

“A main goal of mine was trying to connect our grade. Since we ended up being online, that was quite a different role,” Chuck said. “But that will continue to be one of my goals, and I want to be able to become closer with the people that I was not able to this year.”