WOODBURY — A common dream among students is to have power over whatever they want at school: homework, when school starts, how long classes are, or even what days of the week school should be attended.
Thanks to principal Mykal Kuslis’ new Principal’s Student Advisory, this dream is closer to reality than students might think.
“[The Principal’s Student Advisory is] just a really good way for me to stay grounded,” Kuslis said. “I know sometimes I get stuck in the office quite a bit, so I think it’s good to have that connection with students and be able to talk to them in a stetting that allows them to voice some concerns in a meaningful way.”
This advisory was chosen specifically to represent Nonnewaug as a whole, and involves a mix of students from every class. For senior members like Gianna Lodice, this is a welcome addition to the school.
“I think it’s a great way for the student body to reach out to our administration,” Lodice said, “and communicate how we are feeling about things going on at school.”
Certain aspects of Nonnewaug, such as schedules or PSATs, have been discussed in some of the group’s first meetings. Kuslis brings up points he thinks the students will want to comment on, and Kuslis encourages students to highlight problems they see as well.
“As adults, we forget what it’s like to be a student in the school,” Kuslis said. “We sometimes have these ideas that we think are going to be really good or helpful, so it’s good to get feedback from the students who are actually living it every day. It’s crucial to get those different perspectives to keep us in check with decision making.”
Although freshmen like Grayson Leville feel like they have not been part of Nonnewaug long enough to make suggestions, he still thinks it’s important to include every grade’s thoughts.
“Sometimes I feel like I can’t say too much because I don’t have as much experience at Nonnewaug,” Leville said. “But it seems like a good idea to have freshmen there because you get the point of view of people who are experiencing high school for the first time.”
Even though this group is a brand new part of Nonnewaug, Kuslis ensures that it’s intended to be long lasting.
“As long as I’m here, which I hope is a long time,” Kuslis said, ”it will be something that we look to maintain especially as we continue to address some thing that are changing like schedules and different policies.”
