Velazquez named president of BMS student council

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following article by Brianna Holmes was published in Volume 5, Issue 2 of “Paw Prints, A Student Publication of Bismarck Middle School.”

BISMARCK — Bismarck Middle School eighth-grader Gabby Velazquez became the student council president this year.

Velazquez has been elected to student council every year since she was in fifth grade.

Viewing the opportunity to serve on the student council as a chance to “get out there” and help people, Gabby enjoys her time on the council. She said having a student council at Bismarck has helped organize things and allows students to take actions instead of just adults deciding what students get to do.

She said the council gives students a say in things. At the top of her agenda this year is adding more Recognizing Excellence, Achievement and Progress, known as REAP, activities.

Her favorite aspect of being a member of student council is having a chance to choose things for the whole student body, but she said being in student council is not always easy.

“You have to take a lot of responsibility and be able to hear other people’s advice,” Velazquez said.

Velazquez prepared for her campaign with a speech about leadership, how she wants to help others and her plans for the year. She feels student council is good for anyone hoping to take another step in life.

Social Studies teacher Meredith Armstrong, left, presented Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin with a Trojans football shirt during a visit to Hot Springs Intermediate School on Oct. 27. The shirt was presented to Griffin as a gesture of the school’s appreciation of...

STUDENT COUNCIL: Bismarck Middle School eighth-grader Gabby Velazquez, front left, is this year’s student council president. Braden Shuffield, right, is the vice president. Other student council members, from left, in front are seventh-grade...