Tiger Council officers elected

The following executive officers have been elected to represent the Middle School student body on the Tiger Council: eighth-grader Abraham Johnson, president; eighth-grader Jazlyn Green, vice president; and sixth-grader Herren Burgess, scribe.

“These students will represent their peers at the Middle School in all aspects of student life, from service to involvement,” said Marie Fraser, Tiger Council adviser. “Each one of them has made a commitment to be the voice of not only the majority, but of every student here at Darlington. It is a great honor to be selected for these positions and an even greater responsibility. To be an executive officer of Tiger Council speaks to the trust that these students’ teachers and peers have in their ability to empower students to learn with passion, act with integrity and serve with respect through continued example.”

Students interested in running for an officer position on Tiger Council submitted an application packet that included a signed commitment by the student and a parent, a teacher recommendation, and narrative statement explaining why he or she wanted to be an officer and what he or she would contribute to the position. In addition, they were required to have at least a 3.3 grade-point average from the previous year and provide examples of extracurricular involvement.

“Based on these criteria, applicants were narrowed and then the faculty and staff as whole were asked for feedback on the candidates for vice president and scribe and ultimately selected those officers,” Fraser said. “In the case of president, the applicants who met the above-mentioned criteria were allowed to run for office.”

The rules of this process stipulated that no favors (material or promised) were allowed. Each candidate was give space for two posters and also had the opportunity to give a three-minute speech at the Middle School’s weekly assembly. Afterwards, the Middle School voted as whole on who they wanted the president to be. This process tied in with the Middle School’s Character Word of the Month: citizenship.

“The executive officers will meet once a month as a board and then once again with the rest of the representative assembly, which will be comprised of one representative from each advisee group,” Fraser said. “The officers will be responsible for disseminating information to them as well as putting matters to vote. In turn, the representatives will take information back to their advisee groups and present information back to the board.”

Because fifth-graders were not allowed to run for executive office, they were given an opportunity to participate in a Director for a Day Citizenship Contest.

“Students were asked to submit a paragraph or more on what made them a good citizen of Darlington. Then, the paragraphs had all identifying information removed from them and were judged by three secret judges,” Fraser said. “The winner, Jack McClain, was director of the Middle School for day. He wore a tie and brought a pen to look like Dr. Hutchins, while Dr. Hutchins attended one of Jack’s classes in his place. During the day, Jack used Dr. Hutchins’ office, declared a stucco day, had lunch with the headmaster, and helped with a number of duties, including student pick-up, classroom observations and lunch duty.”