Meet the Poolesville SGA
A ball whizzes past a player’s ear. Students watching in the bleachers duck, scrambling to get out of the way. Fast, pounding music plays as students watch the players in anticipation. Excitement builds in the air as students and teachers alike gather to watch the game, and the student body erupts into a cheer. The cause is no other than the annual Fall Speedball Game, one of the various events the Student Government Association of Poolesville High School organizes.
Poolesville High School is the only whole school magnet school in Montgomery County, boasting several magnet houses and a small, intimate community. Poolesville High School’s Student Government Association, headed by President Laurel Kim, strives to organize various events that unite and benefit Poolesville students.
Kim, a senior in the Humanities magnet house, attributes the success of the Speedball Tournament to “the ability for students from all backgrounds and interests to form a team; non-student athletes included.”
“Many of the teams and participants get their own shirts premade for the games and [the] main gym is packed with students standing on the edges of the gym floor to get a glimpse of the matches,” said Kim.
Kim has been involved in Poolesville SGA since freshmen year and in sophomore year, she ran for class president while being the only female candidate out of 6 candidates. Kim said, “Being class president truly engrained me into the responsibilities and actions associated with being a SGA member.” Now as a senior, Kim proudly represents PHS as the whole school SGA president.
Besides the annual Speedball tournament, the Poolesville SGA hosts the MANNA+WUMCO food drive during Thanksgiving season, matching the theme of giving back. According to Kim, “Poolesville High School is known for our active participation in the food drive, consistently amazing our faculty and the donation centers. We put a focus on making sure that the food donations have more variety and nutritional value.”
The SGA puts a competitive spin on the drive as well, incorporating a friendly competition between the different magnet programs. The drive successfully raised almost 3,100 high quality food items this year, half given to the MANNA food donation center and the other half given to a food donation welfare center active in the Poolesville community.
This year, SGA took action to meet the needs of the students when installing water purifiers and water bottle refillers, helping students access updated, eco friendly sources of water. Their SGA’s work is far from over though.
Kim said,“I hope to allocate our attention to addressing the lack of attention our school building has received in regards to infrastructure funding and participate in the MLK week of service as a joint effort between the SGA and NHS.”
She also aims to provide more resources for students taking standardized testing and applying to college by having our seniors give presentations about applying for the FAFSA, CSS Profile, and the overall college application process.
The magnet programs of Poolesville High School lead to a diverse student body with contrasting interests. Kim explains, “The magnet programs in Poolesville adds to the diverse opinions and experiences of our student body. Our varying interests and talents contribute to the diversity of our SGA and the topics of our discussions.”
From students uniting to give back to the community to students of all kinds gathering to watch the speedball tournament, the spirit and unison of Poolesville High School is evident.
Written by Amanda Chu
Photo By Amanda Chu
Published by PR Department