Each school day, Kalamazoo Christian teachers and administration stand at Elementary School entrance, directing traffic, saying hello to families. Another layer of energy under the shade structure comes in the form of familiar worship songs, welcoming students into another day of learning. The upbeat music is one of the many impacts the Kalamazoo Christian Elementary School Student Council has on the school.
Student council is composed of eight Fourth Grade students, one boy and one girl from each Fourth Grade class. One student said, “I think it [student council] is fun because usually, the Spanish and English kids don’t get much overlap. Even though we don’t get to overlap with all the other classes, we get to still meet with some people and sort of meet them for the first time.”
Eli Baker, William (Will) Bartels, James (Bo) Bray, Brooklyn Eshuis, Avery Herder, Holly Ludwig, Finley Whitaker and Eli Woltersom served on the first semester student council. Led by Principal, Tyler Van Schepen, these students committed some of their recess and lunch hours to discuss school improvement and plan service opportunities for their peers.
Their semester-long project was organizing a drive for Kalamazoo Gospel Ministries, a shelter on N. Burdick St., Kalamazoo, MI. Each student council representative presented to a few Elementary School classes to promote the drive. Lots of planning time was used to create posters, reminding people that the drive was going on.
The students agreed that presenting to their peers was a fun challenge. They had to plan out what they were going to say, memorize details about the drive and be able to answer questions from their fellow students.
One student reflected on their time on student council, “You have to make an example. You have to really be ready for when you’re picked. You have to work hard and do good, because there’s going to be a lot of people looking up to you.”
When they had collected canned food, blankets and sheets, toiletries and more, the student council loaded up a van and took it to Kalamazoo Gospel Ministries, where they were given a tour of the facilities. The students learned about Kalamazoo Gospel Ministries’ effort to bring community members out of homelessness, feed the community, provide resources for employment, teach skills classes and encourage people to attend Bible classes or chapel. Collectively, a favorite part of the tour was visiting “the bread room.”
One student was shocked by the difficulty of meal planning for a group of people, making sure meals were tasty and nutritious.
The student council expressed how grateful they are to see what is happening in their community. One student said, “It helps us realize to like, not take stuff for granted, like being able to come to a private school and learn about God, and help people who don’t have as much as us.”
