River View invites others to hear benefits of leadership class
WARSAW – The Teen Leadership Class at River View High School is hoping to inspire other schools in the area to create a leadership program of their own.
The class organized an inspire event for Oct. 21 that they invited other schools and businesses in the community to attend and learn about the projects they participate in, what they learn from the class and how they impact their school and their community.
“This is our second year for the class and it’s neat because it’s new kids who bring different ideas to the table than last year’s class,” said Stephanie Snyder, who teaches the class. “They really take ownership of the class.”
However, they do get guidance and support from the Teen Leadership Corps and Program Director Susie Pocos was at River View Oct. 21 to help Snyder and her class answer any questions attendees might have asked.
Pocos said this is the 10th year for Teen Leadership Corps and there are still a lot of school districts that don’t know about the organization.
“We are one of the best kept secrets, but I’m excited to share who we are with surrounding schools,” she said.
Leadership classes are typically offered to juniors and seniors, but Pocos said she has had some sophomores participate in the program. Some schools also choose to have a junior leadership academy and junior high kids are taught by the upperclassmen.
There are 13 students in Snyder’s class, which started off with a conference organized by the Teen Leadership Corps. They then focused on team building skills and icebreakers so they could get to know each other before they learned about their personal leadership skills. From there they started brainstorming about project ideas.
“Everyone’s ideas and opinions count,” said Mallory Giffin, a junior in the class. “There are no bad ideas. Your advisor helps guide you, but it’s mostly you (the students) planning and getting things done.”
One of their current projects is planning the school’s Veterans Day assembly for Friday, Nov. 11. They are inviting all River View alumni who are veterans to attend the ceremony and also are working with the RVHS Class of 1966 to create an honor wall for River View alumni veterans.
“It’s neat to see how they change and react throughout the year,” Snyder said. “Whenever we complete a project I have them reflect on it and tell me what could have been done differently and what worked. I tell them to give me the good, the bad and the ugly and they do a good job of keeping each other accountable.”
Snyder and her class even slipped a service project into their Oct. 21 information sessions. All those who attended were able to help make fleece blankets for Project Linus, which Snyder said provides blankets to children in hospitals.
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