At LWGMS Every Student Is a Leader
There are many opportunities for leadership at LWGMS. We believe there are varied styles of leadership and that any student can be a leader. Students may take on traditional leadership roles in student government, but other opportunities to cultivate different kinds of leadership are also available.
Every LWGMS student is expected to lead a group discussion, run their own student learning conference, and greet and tour guests at Open Houses. Every eighth grader is a leader in the school, and is responsible for planning R&R group activities, mentoring their younger “sisters,” and leading by example.
Leadership opportunities available to all students can be found in the following activities:
Student Government
Green Team
Yearbook staff
Theater: stage manager, assistant director, choreographer, music director
Open House tour guides
School representatives at off campus events
Sports team captains
Collaborative projects in all classes
R&R sister mentors
Leading class meetings
Outdoor program leadership
Cleaning crews
Student Government
The Student Government at LWGMS consists of three branches of government: a Student Council, a Community Board, and a Judicial Committee.
Student Council
The Student Council’s purpose is to address issues raised by students and class representatives. The Student Council President runs Monday Morning Meetings, talks at open houses and other events, meets with class representatives, and meets with Head of School about school-wide issues or any issues that have been brought to the student government's attention. Student Council Representatives communicate with their class at class meeting. Representatives talk about their meetings and take issues from class meetings. The representatives must take all issues to the council even if they do not agree with the issue.
Community Board
The Community Board’s purpose is to coordinate clubs, school events, and fundraisers. The Community President runs Monday Morning Meetings, talks with clubs, updates front hall board, and is in charge of the community representatives. Community Board Representatives are elected from each grade to communicate with club representatives and are also in charge of fundraisers, dances, and other events involving students.
Judicial Committee
The Judicial Committee’s purpose is to address issues raised by faculty and staff. The committee will discuss issues with Head of School and advise her on how to solve these problems. The mission of the Judicial Branch is to give student input to school administration on solving problems raised by teachers.
Social Justice
Through activities such as meeting with their representatives in state government or spearheading sustainability projects for their school and local community, students at LWGMS learn that each of them has the power to effect change in the world.
Service Learning
Service Learning is an integral and rewarding part of the LWGMS experience. The goal of the Service Learning program is for students to recognize their own abilities to improve their communities and nurture a sense of responsibility and pride as students take action to improve their local and global communities.
Each student takes part in a grade-level service project, every year. These projects focus on our local community. The sixth grade class is linked to our neighbor, Byrd Barr Place. At Byrd Barr Place, students volunteer in the food bank to sort food into grocery bags for their Home Delivery Program. Seventh Grade students will each spend a half day at Angeline's Day Center for Women in Downtown Seattle. At Angeline's, students will help prepare and serve lunch to the guests at the center. The eighth grade project is connected to our neighborhood and larger Central District community. Students will help compile backpacks full of food for students at Leschi Elementary who are experiencing homelessness. These backpacks get distributed to students for their time away from school during breaks when they do not have their regular access to school breakfast and lunch programs.
Past service learning projects include: reading with students from Bailey Gatzert Elementary, Water 1st International’s Carry 5 Walk for Water, Washington Low Income Housing Alliance’s Housing and Homelessness Advocacy Day, YWCA’s Thanksgiving Basket Drive, United Nations Foundation’s GirlUp Rally, Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s Beat the Bridge, American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, Country Doctor Community Health Center’s Spa Day Drive for domestic violence shelters, and fundraising for the Maasai Girls Education Fund.
Social Justice Film Festival
L-Dub’s 4th Annual Social Justice Film Festival was held at the Broadway Performance Hall, and we are so grateful to all of our students and families who joined us in support the Class of 2017. Thank you also to the Alhadeff family for making the event possible and supplying wonderful Majestic Bay popcorn!
As part of the Social Studies class and the Walls to Bridges program, each eighth grader worked with her classmates to agree on a topic, generate a thesis, create a storyboard, integrate interviews, videos, and still photos, and edit a five-minute film that will inspire our audience to act, to think, and to discuss issues important to our students.
At the end of the screening, guests jumped on smartphones and voted for their favorite films. The results were tallied and real time and Ms. Hearn announced the winners...
Best Thesis:
The Dark Side of Disney
By Amy and Anabelle
Best Call to Action:
Living in a Hateful World
By Madison, Georgia, and Hazel
Most Original Idea:
More Than a Diagnosis
By Celia C. and Olive
Best Overall:
I Am More Than a Body
By Megan, Charlotte, and Nadia