Let’s Make a Deal
The student council of Notre Dame High School in St. Louis, MO, developed a fun lunchtime activity that is a spinoff of the game show Let’s Make a Deal. Several days before the activity, they notify students to bring in odd items—movie ticket stubs, ball game tickets, mom’s grocery list, shower caps, teddy bears, Pokémon cards, and so forth—in their purses or backpacks. On the day of the activity, a student council member serves as the announcer at lunch and calls for one of the items. A panel of student council judges determines the first person to raise their hand. Whoever is chosen comes forward and selects either bag one, bag two, or bag three, which are a combination of gift bags and grocery bags. Inside each bag is a gift, and as with the TV show, some are good and some are bad. The bad ones are often deceptive, since they sometimes have $1, $5, or $10 underneath.
Cranes for Cancer
A special student council member at Louisiana State University’s Laboratory School in Baton Rouge, LA, helped support cancer awareness. She enlisted the help of fellow student council members and other classmates by asking them to fold 1,000 paper cranes, which turned into a school spirit competition. In Japan, paper cranes represent peace and hope. The cranes were strung together into long garlands to create a work of art. When the final product was completed, the crane garland was donated to the Ochsner Health System Clinic so patients could experience the encouragement of hope and the joy of receiving them.
Fulfills Global Citizenship initiative strand: empathetic actions and wellness
Multi Culti
Student council members at Rancho High School in Las Vegas understand the importance of multicultural acceptance. That’s why they hold two events to recognize the diverse cultures at their school: a big food fair and an assembly of performances representing a variety of cultures. The food fair is a great fundraiser. Rancho’s clubs are asked if they are interested in selling any type of food item at this fair. If clubs opt to sell food, the student council charges $10–$15 per spot (depending upon where the spot is inside the soccer field tent area). Tip: Assign at least one student council member to ensure each club is informed and gets the opportunity to try for a spot at the fair.
Fulfills Global Citizenship initiative strand: positive social change
A Fine-Feathered Fundraiser
You’re sure to gobble up this activity. The student council at Jefferson Academy Secondary School in Broomfield, CO, selects teachers who are willing to wear a turkey costume for a day. The group creates containers labeled with those teachers’ names. The students “vote” by putting money into the container of the teacher they would like to see dressed as a turkey. The teacher who gets the most votes wears a turkey costume on the Friday before Thanksgiving break. The proceeds go to buy turkeys for the Denver Rescue Mission.
Fulfills Global Citizenship initiative strand: empathetic actions and wellness
Wags n’ Kisses
NJHS students at Daggett Montessori School in Ft. Worth, TX, are really the cat’s meow. For the past several years, students at the elementary and middle school levels compete to see which class can bring the most pet food and other supplies to donate to the local Humane Society, or to help supply pet food to families in need by partnering with www.dontforgettofeedme.org. Elementary winners get a popcorn and movie party, and middle school winners get a week to dress any way they choose.
Fulfills Global Citizenship initiative strand: empathetic actions and wellness
Promoting ‘Selfie-steem’
NHS students at Hickory High School in Hermitage, PA, visited classrooms and asked students to email selfies that they would like to post on the walls of the school. The NHS adviser printed out 8-by-10-inch copies of all collected selfies and laminated them. The pics are posted in the halls that are most traveled in the high school. On a designated “self-esteem day,” NHS members stand with Post-it notes and Sharpies and ask students to write positive comments and post them on the pictures. The pictures are monitored to prevent any negative activity. The students promote positive self-esteem in others.
Fulfills Global Citizenship initiative strand: awareness/perspectives
Bring on Play!
York, PA, is considered safer than just 11 percent of all cities in the United States and has violent and property crime rates well above the national average. To help break this pattern of violence within their community, York Catholic High School’s National Honor Society partnered with Bring on Play (BOP) to discourage youth from engaging in crime by building a safe place to play. Through the efforts of BOP, the city of York, volunteers from the community, and two shifts of NHS students, the playground was essentially completed in a single day.
Fulfills Global Citizenship initiative strand: equity
Haunted Hallways
In an effort to raise money for the American Cancer Society, NJHS students at Nolan Middle School in Bradenton, FL, held their very own haunted hallway event. The sixth-grade hallway had an enchanted forest theme, and the eighth-grade hallway had a scary zombie theme. Students and staff are charged a fee to walk through. The chapter raised $2,000 for its charity!
Fulfills Global Citizenship initiative strand: empathetic actions and wellness