I asked Gaia Peled ‘23 and Ami Ashman ‘23 questions for insight into the plans and policies of the new junior year grade representatives.

Why did you choose to run for grade representative?

Gaia: “We know that junior year is a very scary and very stressful year and we want to just make sure that we’re setting up our grade for success by planning fun activities…and providing them with the resources so they can be successful and they know what they’re doing and they know what’s happening at all times and just make these last few years of high school really amazing.”

How do you feel that your classmates elected you for grade representative?

Ami: “It feels great, it shows that people trust us to get the job done and to help them navigate this stressful time of high school…it feels nice.”

Is being grade representative what you expected?

Gaia: “There’s so much more planning than people think. Even for really small activities there’s so much thought that goes into it and there’s so many people that contribute and it’s really interesting to see all the aspects. Like there’s the money aspect, the time aspect, there’s so many things that go into planning these activities and it’s really cool to be behind the scenes and learn all about that stuff and learn about leadership.”

What have you already started doing as grade representatives?

Ami: “Well, you might have seen we’ve already worked on that weekly schedule that we’re going to continue putting out every week, every Sunday or Monday, depending on when school starts. We also are working with the birthday club (Maytal Fleisher ‘23 and Matthew Silber ‘23) to send out ‘Happy Birthday’ on the group chat. We’re going to continue working with these people, we’re going to work with Mrs. Sullivan, some other teachers, and some other departments and try to continue the stuff we’ve already started.”

Gaia: “And change our locker bay, make it a more fun hangout spot and just plan a lot more outdoor, fun activities.”

What are your short term plans?

Gaia: “So, this year is coming to an end, the big thing that’s coming is finals week which a lot of people are obviously going to be stressed about so we really just hope to have these last few months of school to plan activities outside. In the past few weeks when it has been nice out, being outside is so good for your mental health, it de-stresses you. Just have little, random fun things that will make people smile and hopefully, just make these last few months of school fun and not as stressful.”

Ami: “We’re already working on some fun activities that we should do this year so look out for those.”

What are your long term plans?

Ami: “Our long term plans focus, again, on fun, grade bonding, outside activities and definitely more on the stress, anxiety and mental health surrounding junior year and college applications, standardized testing, APs, etc. These processes are very stressful so we want to plan events like speakers to talk about navigating these things; seminars about how to apply for colleges, which we are going to work with the school to try to do; and definitely things that help students not be so stressed.”

What specific types of activities will you throw?

Ami: “We’re going to plan activities around mental health; try to talk about stress, anxiety, tests, schoolwork, etc.; and again, grade bonding activities is something we want to focus on. I feel like over COVID and over Zoom the grade is less bonded than it could be and we want to bond the grade together over these stressful times that we’ve talked about…I think that will really help everyone go through it.”
Gaia: “And a lot of activities are stuff like having a bonfire, or going on a grade walk. A lot of them are really simple but we think it could really help people get their day.”

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Gaia: “Yes, actually there is. I think we just want to emphasize that just because somebody isn’t grade rep or just because somebody isn’t in student government doesn’t mean that they should stay quiet, doesn’t mean that they can’t do anything. If you see something that you think is wrong or if you want to change something, Ami and I are just the gate between the students and the administration. Just because we’re grade reps doesn’t mean that we’re the only people that can actually make things happen. If you have an idea then tell us and it will likely happen. So, we just want to make sure that people get that.”

Ami: “Just because you’re not in student government doesn’t mean that your ideas don’t matter. If you tell us we’re going to immediately tell them to the administration and to the other members of student government and try to get those ideas implemented.”

Congratulations to Ami and Gaia for winning grade representative and we look forward to a great year!