By Rose O’Connor, Correspondent
Some school leaders may shudder if you were to ask a middle school student the question, “What would you do if you were a school principal?”
Visions of no homework, no tests, unlimited recess and complete chaos may come to mind. However, when pressed with this question, students at St. Leo the Great School, Lincroft, rose to the challenge and answered the question with maturity and insight, and eighth-grade student Helena Pecci was selected by the Asbury Park Press as the winner of the newspaper’s January Student Voices video contest.
Pecci created the video in her Language Arts class, St. Leo principal Cornelius Begley explained.
“They have these contests monthly and the students create the videos in the Language Arts classes,” said Begley. “Our middle school Language Arts teacher, Mrs. Brock, works with them in the classroom.”
Brock commented, “I’ve been very lucky to have a slew of talented students jump on the bandwagon with this contest. We have three First Place winners, a Second and Third place winner, and four students with Honorable Mentions so far for the 2017-18 school year. Topics range from social issues facing teens today to personal experiences.”
She continued, “I encourage them to write; however, for me, having the students learn to make a quick and effective story with images, sound, animation, and plot within a two-minute time allotment is much more exciting and entertaining.”
In her winning video, created using a tool called PowToon, Pecci stressed that as principal she would work to make changes that would benefit all students.
She outlined three initiatives that she would accomplish as principal.
First, she would create a Homework Helping Club. The club would meet immediately after school and would allow students and teachers to work and help each other with homework assignments.
“There are many times that students leave their classes feeling really confused,” she stated in her video and believes the Homework Club could alleviate those instances.
Second, Pecci would like to push back the school’s start time and make the school day begin later. This is not necessarily so she can sleep in, but so that she and her classmates are more alert and attentive in class during the day.
Her third suggestion includes creating a buddy system throughout the school. This plan would encourage students to sit with someone new each month and would ensure no one is left out. She also believes that this would present students with the opportunity to make new friends throughout the school year.
As principal, Pecci also stressed that she would not make these changes all on her own, but would seek advice from others in her school community.
“When I come up with new ideas such as these, I would pass it by the students first,” she offered.
Juliana Esteban, placed third in the video contest.
Throughout her presentation, Esteban played both the role of principal and student, working together to devise a plan on how to make the school better for students.
In her video Esteban suggests, “I would add more clubs,” and acknowledged removing homework and tests from the school wouldn’t be realistic and would not be something she would pursue as a school administrator.
As principal, Begley is no doubt proud of his students for their ideas, ingenuity and ability to showcase their finished product in a video production.
“We enter these contests regularly and our students always do really well; We’ve won a few times,” he shared. “I am very happy that our students’ voices are represented in the Asbury Park Press and the importance of their feelings and beliefs are being noticed by public opinion. I am proud that St. Leo the Great students can articulate their responses with such clarity and excellence and are finding this form of expression both a rewarding and confidence-building experience.”
Begley continued, “The Student Voices contest has initiated much creativity from our students and has encouraged them to engage in powerful conversation based on a variety of topics. I always look forward to reading what our students have to say and their inner thoughts in relation to the chosen topics.”
To view both of the winning videos from St. Leo the Great School, visit app.com/studentvoices.