Mya Johnson, fifth grade student at Haymarket Elementary School, earned the respect of her peers and teachers this year at the helm of her school's student council association (SCA). Mya's job as president of public relations is to keep everybody filled in on what's happening at the school and to be the students' voice. She makes sure she is posting her news segments on time, comes up with ideas to help keep SCA flowing during meetings, and ensures everyone stays on track.
Mya
also
worked
diligently
to
bring
about
Zoom
lunch
hours.
With
the
help
of
SCA
co-sponsors
Robin
Schenck,
school
counselor
for
grades
three
to
five
at
Haymarket
Elementary,
and
Anna
Collins-Walker,
drama
and
literacy
teacher,
these
game-filled
lunch
hours
bring
everyone
together
in
a
social
setting.
Mya
uses
this
forum
to
gain
ideas
and
get
feedback
from
students
about
what
they
like.
Along
with
Mya's
unusual
title,
president
of
public
relations,
the
school
retooled
the
rest
of
the
SCA
officer
roles
as
well.
"We
have
seven
roles
including
me,"
said
Mya.
"We
have
the
mindful
manager;
Ella
Taliaferro
does
that
and
she's
going
to
help
us
stay
calm
and
focus
on
our
work.
We
have
tech
tipster,
which
is
run
by
Blake
Smith;
he
shows
us
technology
tips
and
tricks.
We
have
the
graphic
designer,
which
is
by
my
classmate
Breitling
Corts.
He's
going
to
help
in
graphic
design
and
school
posters.
Chief
logistics
officer,
Isabella
Jolly,
makes
sure
SCA's
on
track
and
things
are
posting
on
time
and
makes
sure
we
don't
fall
behind.
And
then,
one
of
my
friends,
her
name
is
very
close
to
mine,
Maya
Wooden,
variety:
facts
and
funnies;
she
tells
jokes
and
does
funny
news
segments
for
the
news
show."
Mya
campaigned
on
kindness
and
connectiveness
and
always
attempts
to
show
how
being
kind
can
have
a
positive
impact
on
others.
During
an
SCA
meeting,
Mya
brought
up
an
idea
to
have
students
share
teacher
shoutout
videos
to
brighten
the
teachers'
days.
And,
as
is
customary
for
Mya,
she
endeavored
to
be
inclusive
by
suggesting
the
Haymarket
student
ambassadors
lead
in
the
sharing.
In
addition
to
the
seven
officers,
SCA
includes
a
team
of
four
student
ambassadors
whose
job
is
to
help
with
social
events
and
the
school
reward
program.
Thanks
to
Mya's
idea,
each
of
the
four
ambassadors
(Soliyanna
Mersha,
Charlotte
Moore,
Avery
Weaver,
and
Ethan
Zola)
has
been
sharing
self-created
FlipGrid
video
shoutouts
to
teachers
during
morning
announcements
from
the
student
group
they
represent.
"Mya's
inclusiveness
and
poise
amazes
us
with
every
meeting!"
said
Schenck.
"She's
the
president
of
public
relations,
and
typically
for
the
president,
you
know,
the
spotlight
is
on
them.
What's
so
heartwarming
about
Mya
is
that
every
meeting
and
every
time
she
has
an
idea,
she
always
incorporates
others
and
that
just
makes
everyone
feel
so
special.
Not
everybody
has
that
quality
or
skill
and
Mya
just
does
it
beautifully
and
it
makes
everybody
else
feel
so
valued."
With
virtual
or
hybrid
learning
as
major
components
of
the
school
year,
having
a
team
of
leaders
that
could
bring
everyone
together
was
more
important
than
ever
for
the
staff
at
Haymarket
Elementary.
Their
plan
to
incorporate
students
into
the
news
show
has
accomplished
beyond
what
they
expected.
"Because
Mya
has
such
a
knack
for
making
everyone
feel
included,
the
teamwork
is
just
beautiful,"
said
Schenck.
"These
kids
have
been
wanting
to
do
these
leadership
things
for
years. We
came
up
with
having
them
on
the
news
show,
but
what's
fun
is
then
they're
taking
off
and
coming
up
with
new
ideas
themselves.
It's really
fun to
see
them
being
excited
about
being
leaders
at
the
school.
And
now
with
the
young
kids
here,
they
watch
the
news
and
they
look
up
to the older ones;
it's
fun
to
see. This
group
of
leaders
really
worked
together
to
share
the
spotlight
and
enrich
others;
nobody
hogs
the
attention
or
tries
to
steal
focus.
It
is
really
beautiful
to
see."