Last Time Around

          Although first quarter was kind of difficult for me as I am still in summer mode and this happens to always be Leaderships most hectic season, I would say that this year is off to a great start. From the back to school dance, link crew, new block schedule, welcome back rally, club week and homecoming parade; I would say that so far this school year has brought a lot of new experiences and great memories. Seeing how this was only the beginning of the year and we've accomplished so much and there is still so much more to look forward to, I know this year is going to be a great one.
         The Welcome Rally was definitely a great start to the school year as it reunited the classes as a whole after our 2 month vacation apart.  I feel the rally really got everyone back into the swing of things, especially spirit wise. That was a good week for us as not only was that one of our best rallies but we also had a great amount of participation on the spirit days. We saw a lot of involvement from each of the classes and the amount of spirit being shown so early in the year was incredible.

          Club week was good as I noticed a larger variety of clubs present and many people were signing up. I recall one club even having a sign up sheet that was totally full front and back which was quite impressive. It was also a lot more organized compared to previous years as we had more of a structure set up. Although I think what was more successful was club day as it had a much more vibrant and positive environment as it did not take away from anyone's lunchtime so more people were outside to view the clubs and everyone just seemed so much more involved and focused.
          Lastly, Homecoming. I would say that after four long years its crazy to think we have just finished our last homecoming, last float, and last homecoming dance. Although the Seniors did not come out on top in regards to the whole float situation, I couldn't be any prouder of what we did accomplish and how far we've come as I can still remember our days as Freshmen struggling on even just separating the napkins. In consideration of how stressed we were trying to balance our SAT, grades, ACT, and most importantly our college applications, we pulled through and created a beautiful float and great rally placing 1st.

           So far this school year is going great and it has barely began. With so many more ideas and events coming in the future, I can't wait to see where it is going because I know it is going to be a great one!

Fresh Start

2016 has been a great year, filled with change and many accomplishments. Homecoming was among one of our most greatest successes this year and I'm glad to have been a part of it. De Anza is notorious for float season, and we always manage to put on a show the neighbors will never forget. We've all worked hard together to pull of something that felt like the impossible. We've created a strong reputation within the student body, due to the tremendous teamwork of the Leadership class, student body, and of our faculty here at De Anza.

Although we've had a great year so far, there's always still room for improvement. For example, students tend to only show the most spirit throughout their junior/senior years. To help build a foundation for De Anza' s school spirit, we should promote our upcoming school events in a way that is appealing to everyone (prizes, competitions, etc.). It would be a fun idea to host De Anza's very first Don Finals (or Play-offs, Championship, etc..), in which the classes come together to compete for the title of the year's  "Don Champions." As a school, we've always been trying to establish traditions, and I have a feeling this one may stick. We, as a school, should be more open to trying new things this year.

All in all, our hard work has paid off throughout the school and community. In fact, since homecoming was such a hit, we should create more communal services and events to put De Anza on the map. There is always room for something new and different and we should listen  to the community. After all, we are here to make change further beyond our reach.

Round Two

So the new year is rapidly coming, more rapid than this year seemed to flash by. Round two shall be more victorious for me. I want to step into the new year with my head on straight and my should proudly upright. It will mark one year from he time I will be five months away from graduating. I am officially 3/4 done with high school. Soon as the new year comes around I will be applying for scholarships and looking at college/university prospects. I've never felt so driven about school until now. When this semester ends, I plan to be apart of Principal's list once again. 

Talk to you next time around!  

xoxo 

- Kira

Take a Sigh

Although the sun hasn't quite shone today, for me it's shining within me. The quarter has just ended and I could not feel more relieved. Junior has got off to a good start. With persistence and everlasting faith I was able to end the quarter with a 3.517. Yes, there's always room for improvement,  but I am proud that I will be on the Principal's list, which I cannot complain about. Enough about me how about those Juniors(aka me again)! They killed it with their stunning float. It was definitely a show stopper.

Senior Year...

Applying for colleges was easy. Maybe not for some people because they don't know what they want to do but for me I had something in mind already. My advice I'll give the upcoming seniors is make sure you do a lot of work that interest you. Luckily I did an internship last summer working at RYSE. It opened my eye and gave me many opportunities by doing this. I didn't apply to any UCs because my high school life wasn't so easy. So that was a little less stressful. Once you think college apps are done ... they're not because the colleges are going to want a copy of your fall semester grades and well honestly that is where you might make it or break it. I'm on the path where I have a little less than two weeks where I can fix my grades. Senior year has sucked. You start growing up and start realizing that maybe the people you started high school with you might not end with them. Showing up to school might be a problem as well because all you want to do is graduate as soon as possible.

"Senior year is easy," they said. "You will have fun," they said.

Senior year, for one reason or another, is labeled as one of the best times in your high school career; labeled as the "easiest" times as portrayed by misleading movies and cinematic works.
Yet, these works tend to avoid the reality of the mass amounts of testing, the rigor of applications, and lastly, the hardships of AP Microeconomics and graphing monopolistically competitive firms and how they relate to the holistic market -- all are things which numb my brain.


However, could all of this stress be prevented? Absolutely.
What did I do to cause myself all this stress? Procrastination.


That's right. The one way to survive your Senior year is to never procrastinate. Will you do that most of the time? Most likely not. And guess what? ♫ I am procrastinating on this blog as we speak. ♫


So, here are some tips to survive first part of your Senior Year -- tips I should have probably used throughout this whole time.


1. Sleep so that you're not cranky all the time.
A good way to avoid having to cram everything before the day of the test is to have an adequate amount of sleep so that you can focus on all your classes.


2. Eat a healthy meal.
Eating breakfast can go a long way. Your grumbling stomach won't probably help you focus on your studies.


3. Organize your work!
Pretty self explanatory.


4. Have a social life.
Hang out with your friends from time to time so that you can be sane amidst all the work.


5. Take breaks, but not too many breaks.
Use the free time in between your classes to do work. All of it adds up in the end and you'll thank yourself later for it.


6. Challenge yourself, but know your limit.
President of a club? Great! President of 500 clubs? Nope -- don't spread yourself out too thin. One thing I want to emphasize is to focus and be good at 1-2 activities so that you can stand out.
Are you an artist? Participate in competitions and maybe sell some art.
Are you an athlete? Be the best in your team and join multiple organizations in relation to your sport.
Are you an activist? Join clubs you are passionate about and make a difference.
It's better to have one of your activities standing out because that shows commitment and passion.


7. Start your college applications ASACO.
Start your apps AS SOON AS APPLICATIONS COME OUT. Allow for time so that you can receive valuable feedback.




8. Know that all your hard work will pay off.
There may be points of stress and breakdowns (hopefully not) but know what you are working towards and how you will achieve it. Remember to keep your eye on the prize! 🙏

Goals For the Second Half of the School Year

     As the first semester of the school year is drawing to end, it can positively be said that the Junior class and ASB have both been doing outstandingly well. First of all, the Junior class has continued the fundraising that has worked extremely well last year, which the Junior class selling the food graciously supplied by Krash. Other successful fundraising we've done so far this year was the beloved taco sells at De Anza home football games and First Friday chow mien sales. Next, for ASB, the fundraising that has been done was the movie nights we've hosted in De Anza's theater and from an amazing Homecoming. Overall, so far this year both the Junior class and ASB have made successful accomplishments.

    For the upcoming second semester, there are some goals that should be put into place in order for the Junior class to continue thriving. The first goal is to continue consistent and exceptional fundraising so that the Junior class can flourish. This can be accomplished by continuing our sales with Krash and selling at First Friday, however other methods of fundraising should be looked into. The other goal is to keep up the Junior class spirit during rallies and spirit week because for some reason, although overall the class is quite spirited, there is still a percentage that feels rather lacking in that aspect. Ways to accomplish this goal is to be more inclusive with activities that are done so that everyone feels apart of the class, of the De Anza family. These two goals should be put into focus for this upcoming year. 

     As for ASB, there are still some goals that should be set in order for the class to prosper. The first goal should revolve around fundraising that can be done so ASB can increase it's currency so that more events could be put on at De Anza. If ASB can make a giant profit from things that have been newly introduce this year, such as the boat cruise, movie nights, and the valentine dance, then it will open more doors of opportunity for events to go on. This leads to the next goal that should be put into effect for the upcoming year, more events. School and extracurricular activities can be quite stressful for both the students and the teachers so if ASB is able to put on, perhaps small but joyful events throughout the rest of the school year in order to create a healthy, fun and stressless distraction for students and teachers alike, perhaps an after school sports festival were everyone can come out and play different games and have a good time. All in all, ASB's goals should be to focus on fundraising and organizing a couple more events at school.    

The Next Steps

Our Junior class is having an outstanding year so far this school year. We've taken first place for our incredible Monsters University themed float and made a lot of money fundraising. So far, it's been an unbelievable year for our class. But there are some goals that I have in mind for us as we move forward throughout high school. For one, I would like to see more participation at float from our class outside of our leadership class. This year we had a lot of outside help at float but not as much as I believe we could've. I believe that we can increase outside participation from our class of 2018 during next year's float by spreading the word out at the end of this school year. Because most of our float is done over the summertime, so announcements made before the end of this school year will let our other classmates know that if they get bored, they can come and make a positive impact somewhere. Moving on to another topic of hopeful improvement, I strongly encourage that we gather a bigger crowd at sporting events coming up. Most of our class consists of student-athletes but participation at sporting events is lacking. We need to support our fellow Dons athletes. In order to achieve this goal, I think that we should start doing activities at halftime that involve the crowd. This will attract more people because it's a platform for them to show their talents in a location with a pre-gathered audience. All in all, I believe that our class is very successful and we're on a road where we'll have so much fun before we graduate next June.

Colleges Don't Want You to See This! 5 Crazy Tricks to Getting Into College (#4 Will Shock You!)

The entire college process is an intimidating one. When it comes to studying for the SAT, searching for the right college, polishing your essays to perfection, paying up to hundreds of dollars in application fees and more, everything can snowball into an extremely stressful undertaking. 

First, breathe. It's okay to be scared, because almost everyone around you will be going through the process at the same time that you are. The college pressure of aiming for those perfect test scores and trying to get into big name colleges is draining and your mental health comes first.

There's a big misconception that you're supposed to know exactly where you want to go and what you plan to do with your life by the time the applications are due. If you do have a solid plan, that's great! Kudos to you for knowing a lot about yourself. However, if you're not quite there yet, that's perfectly okay as well. I didn't know that I wanted to major in Political Science until the end of my Junior year, when I started really considering how my interests could correlate to a major. Even then, I may decide to switch up my major, like 80% of college students tend to do. (It's a real statistic -- look it up.) My point is, college is a space to grow as a human and part of that growth encompasses the discovery of what you want to do with your life. 

I offer five pieces of advice to anyone who is considering going to college.

1. Set the foundation for yourself.
It's true that there's a lot of things that test scores and grades fail to measure. Unfortunately, they do make you eligible for certain things, including financial aid, scholarships, and more. To make things easier for yourself, do your best to set the foundation from freshman year by maintaining good grades and staying on track to graduate.

Going back to how you're more than grades and test scores, your extracurriculars actually do say more about you as a person, and colleges recognize that. My first year of high school, I actually didn't involve myself in any extracurriculars besides theater, but I did focus on getting good grades. Sophomore year is when I began to participate in school more. Join stuff if you haven't already. It's actually really rewarding because you meet people with similar interests and you become a part of a community. However, it's important to stick to things that genuinely reflect your own interests. A million clubs that have nothing to do with what you want won't help you very much. In fact, on the UC application, the activities section limits you to list only 5 extracurriculars. This is because colleges want to hear what your most significant contributions were. Rather than joining a bunch of clubs solely because it looks good on an application, try to concentrate your efforts on a few things that really matter to you.

2. Use your resources.
Look for resources and use them. All of them. Whether it's going to the College and Career center, reaching out to your counselors, talking with current college students, going to college fairs, or doing your own research, the age of information has blessed us with the ability to prepare ourselves for the college process. Not only does using these resources help you figure out what the heck you need to do to prepare, your resourcefulness will show colleges that you take initiative and are determined to pursue higher education. There's an entire section of college apps dedicated to listing out what educational programs you've taken advantage of throughout your high school career.

3. Give yourself time. 
Start a little early with college research and brainstorming your essays. By early, I mean, like, the summer before senior year. That's when I got started. 

During that summer, I spent a lot of time figuring out where I wanted to apply to. There's so many colleges out there -- each so different -- that finding the right fit can be a huge challenge. I narrowed down my selections with the help of spreadsheets and the internet. I made a list of factors that were important to me in choosing what colleges I wanted to go to. Was I interested in a liberal arts or research school? Big school with huge lecture classes or small, seminar-style classes? 

The gift of spreadsheets also came in handy when I was applying to several university that all wanted anywhere from two to four essays each. It sounds like a ton, but in reality, a lot these prompts are very similar and you can actually recycle them for other college applications and even scholarships. On my spreadsheet, I listed out what questions each college I wanted to apply to asked, the word limit, and then my rough ideas.

As you can probably assume...

I love spreadsheets.

4. Work that essay.
Your essays are arguably the most important part of the application. This is where admissions officers can get the feel of who you are as a person, beyond the test scores and beyond the GPA. Be authentic. Take this time to genuinely reflect on who you are. If you find yourself learning about yourself, you're doing good. Get started on these essays early even if it's just word vomit on a page at first. In this part, it's important that your true voice shines.

5. Chill, dude.
Finally remember that it's not entirely about where you go, but what you do during your time there. I know that's lightweight annoying to hear from me but honestly, it's true.

Good luck to everyone, and feel free to come up to me for advice anytime whether it's in person or online! Catch me in Philly next year, y'all.

#upenn2021gangganggangrealrichrepresentmadeitoutthehood
westcoastontheeastcoastbaystyleyaddayameangangang

Back at it Again with More Stress

 I enjoy being involved in many activities at my school. Being involved is one way to learn outside of the classroom.  One gets a chance to put themselves into problem-solving situations or try something “hands on.”  There are so many ways to get involved, and each has something different that it brings to the table. During senior, it’s became difficult to accomplish all of this. I found myself having a lot on my plate and became hard to manage all my work. College application did not help with my stress level either, only made it worst. If you think float is stressful, just wait for when it is your turn to complete your college applications.

If I had to describe my college application experience in one word it would be exhausting. I had to do a lot of all nighters trying to perfect my personal  insight question, in hope that one of these school will accept me. On top of all this stress, I also had study and do homework for all my AP classes.  I was constantly stressed out through this whole process and it does not have to be like this. When you start early, you can have time to carefully review your work and still be able to turn them in on time. Who ever tells you that senior year is easy… they are LYING to you.

The best advice I could give any upcoming seniors is to first get your CSU applications out the way. These applications are probably the easiest ones to accomplish. The UC personal insight questions are about getting to know your personality, background, and interests, thus require more work for one to be able to go in depth. It is best to start at least doing rough drafts during the summer and have your college counselor look at them early. The sooner the better! Learn from my mistake and do not start them the month they are due. Because of my procrastination, I have to now play catch up with all my missing assignments. I know this may seem very whelming, but all the hard work pays off at the end. Believe in yourself !

Blog #2: Sophomore Goals

          Being new to leadership this year, I have set many goals for my Sophomore class. Number 1 priority being that I hope to make this school year fun, exciting, and eventful. To contribute to that, I want my class to be successful and have a great sophomore experience. I want them to enjoy the rallies, get lit at dances, and participate in other school activities like spirit days. Other goals I have for my class include more fundraising, encouraging participation, and building a stronger community. 
          In my opinion, towards the beginning of the school year was like a "trial and error" type moment for our class fundraising. We sold on many occasions, but didn't necessarily figure out what was best to sell to our peers until later on. Thankfully now, we know what our schools likes and what to sell. But my goal is to fundraise more often in order to aim for higher goals our senior year. In order to achieve that, my fellow leadership staff and I have brainstormed more possible fundraising ideas and scheduled them accordingly. 
          Another goal I would like to mention is building a stronger community within our class. I believe it's very important to reach out to the whole Sophomore class and connect with one another, that way we all know each other and soon enough create one, strong community. In result to this, we can have more participation in rallies, spirit days, etc because everyone would feel comfortable around each other. Having this comfortable vibe can greatly be benefitted on because it can created stronger connections and help make the next few years of high school enjoyable and memorable. 

tips to make your senior year smoother

          So far, my senior year is a bit challenging for me. I am taking 2 AP classes that I had no idea what it was going to be about when I signed up. I am now in Leadership which requires me to plan school events and volunteer on weekdays and weekends outside of school. I am in 2 soccer teams as well and have practice every day. So of course, I am a productive student. If you're like me, just relax and everything will be okay during your college applications.
          For me, it wasn't as stressful as my friends had it. I only applied to 2 States so it was easy and I finished weeks before the deadline. The advice for you guys that I heard from my friends is to take time and thought;begin writing your essays in the summer because you will be writing 4 essays. As well, don't do it last minute because you will STRESS and get ANXIETY! It's good to know want you want to  major in or have some type of idea because when colleges see that, they will notice you're dedicated. However, it is completely normal if you don't know yet want you want to major. For me, I always wanted to be in the Health field so i put Pre-Nursing as my majors.
          Another important thing during college apps is doing your FASFA. This gives you money depending on your family's income for college. You first do your FASFA then do scholarships. Scholarships are sometimes ignored finding scholarships! A simple one is Richmond Promise. For this scholarship, you have to be a resident of Richmond and go to high school in Richmond. Other than that, the months during college apps will feel overwhelmed but after, it will be bitter-sweet and weight will be lifted off your shoulders.

Procrastination and College Apps DO NOT Mix Well

     The whole college application process is not hard... but those 4-8 essays at the very end of those college apps take a lot of time. A mistake I experienced was waiting till the last few days to finish up my college apps. Some people, when they rush a homework assignment or project, the outcome is sometimes their best work. I am definitely not categorized with those people. If I rush any type of work, it will never be my best. I need to plan, brainstorm and create rough draft after rough draft in order to develop my best work.
     My advice to students who want to go to college, is this: PLAN NOW. Whether you are a Junior or Freshman, PLANNING is your best friend, not PROCRASTINATING.  You will want to research colleges so you get a better understanding of what colleges you may want to apply to. After that, you should research your major and make sure that the colleges you are interested in has your major. Next, finding scholarships is also a good idea because I know many of you young whipper snappers do not have $10,000-50,000, depending on which college you want to attend. My last piece of advice, is to find the prompts of essays (some college apps have them) and finish those essays as soon as possible, but also brainstorm, rough draft, and put a lot of thought in each essay. Do not fluff your essays. Be yourself when writing your essays. Describe yourself how you see yourself and not how others see you.
     Do not listen to Cindy Reyes. Do not breathe. Get on those college apps now! You need to have your eyes on the ball. Always stay focused. There is no rest until those college apps are finished. I still have flashbacks from the traumatizing experience of procrastinating and finishing my college apps last minute.

Just kidding about that last paragraph. Ya'll will be fine.

More to come

       
As a first year independent in leadership, this is all a new experience for me and I'm enjoying it so far. This year I've seen class of 2019 fundraising way more than we did last year, yes I know, I wasn't in leadership last year but to me, it's obvious which classes are the ones who fundraise.
This year, in my opinion, De Anza has way more events and chances for leadership to fundraise.

For my class specifically, I'd like to help in any way possible whether its selling every first friday or selling at sports events, it'll eventually all be worth it. We plan to sell all throughout the school year or whenever we can. We plan to atleast sell 2 or more times a month and to have a certain amount of money by the end of our sophomore year.

Our goal by the time we're seniors is to have enough money to pay most of the costs that come with senior year. Which includes all only senior activities to even the DJ for our prom. I just think that there could never be enough fundraising because all it does is benefit our class in so many ways. There's many goals we have for our class but they all lead to being ready for our senior year and that's basically what we do it all for.

Sophomore Class Goals

     Moving forward into the next year, I'd like to see my class succeed for themselves personally. It'd be wonderful to see at least most of the sophomore class participate in spirit days so we can get the chance of winning on rally days, but it takes a lot of encouragement of reaching out to our class but it's doable. Another goal I have set for my class is to fundraise more.

     Last year was a beginner experience when it came to raising money for our class, but we made a huge improvement of selling more items of food more often compared to the previous year. My goal is for us to sell at the very least, twice a month. It is crucial that we raise more money every month for beneficial uses. Hopefully by the end of the school year we raise more and more money so that by the time of our senior year we will be able to have enjoyable events for our soon to be senior class activities.

     We had many accomplishments this year, especially with our class float looking amazing than it did last year. We reach out to our class more when it comes to letting them know about school activities on social media. The main goal our class needs to accomplish is to reach the goal of how much money we need to guarantee the chance of having senior activities, because our senior year has to be the best with memories filled with all the activities we could possibly do that year.

Blog

           Since this is my first year in leadership my goal for this class is giving my sophomore year class the best experience in high school.I want them to get pump up for the rallies,participate in school activities, and help us to reach new goals every year. Some goals i have for my sophomore leadership class is to come up with more ideas so that we can have more opportunities to sell and get money.I really hope we can accomplish that.

     I want my class to able to participate more in selling food.We already have some ideas of what to sell in upcoming events.By the end of the year i want my class to have AT LEAST $1,500 in our account. I think if we work hard enough we can accomplish that goal.I think we're going to sell something this Friday.

Little by little if we sell enough things we can have enough money for our grad night maybe even more. That's one of my goal I REALLY want to accomplish.I hope everybody would always buy our stuff so that every time we sell we sold out. That's a good sign that we're making money.That it what I want my class to accomplish

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                                       Sophomore class 2019

                                                Kyle santiago

Some goals I would like for my class of 2019 I think that we should Fundraise more that 

And raise more money because this year we did not raise that much money but hopefully

Next year we can fundraise more and come up with better ideas with my class. The
Accomplishments that we did make this year is that we was selling pretty good in the
Football games, so I was thinking to tell my class that we should sell like in the basketball
Games.




Opportunities I would like for our class next year is that if we should sell more in basketball
Games and that we should sell stuff that people want. Another one is that We should connect with our class and Not leave nobody out this year, I noticed this year that we really was not interacting with our class like that. I would also like our class next year for us to be really be loud in our rally next year in February I felt that we could have done better but everybody doesn't like to be fun but I'm going to talk to the people that feel left out.


Some accomplishment we had this year in leadership for our class that we made the float in time
And we had a lot of people come for that. Another is that we did not have that much suspensions
As last year, Also this year we had made more people come to the jv and var games so we can help our class so they can get more money fundraising. I remember we sold planners so the students won't be struggling and be messy with there work everywhere and forget the pages.

Reaching Out

Reaching Out

          How on earth does a small group of six Leadership students get to know their entire class of about three hundred something Freshmen students? While that is not an easy task, I think it's something that's very important to do, mainly because as a leader, I feel its necessary to make sure everyone has a voice. If you don't know everyone, well, how can they have that voice through you?
          I think a really simple, yet beneficial, thing to do for the students who don't know their representation is to be very social, especially during times like lunch or activity days. Just get yourself out there and introduce yourself to new people you've never talked to before, and put yourself out there as their representatives. Another thing you can do is at events, like the rallies or places where there is a vast majority of people, just take a couple of seconds to present yourself to the group. That might not be the same as personally knowing someone, but at least they know who the representation of their class is and they learn a bit about you.
          In terms of reaching out and informing our class, there are many ways we can do so. We can reach out to our class with social media, such as Instagram and Twitter. If we have people following us we can post events and things that are happening or have happened so that everyone is informed. We also have our News cork board that keeps people updated, and the display case in the hallway with the latest awards given to our classmates, such as student of the month. Announcements in the morning is a good way to be connected, as well as posters around school with important information. These are all things we can do to ensure we stay connected and reach out to our class.

Blog #2

Good afternoon Leadership! Some of you have just recently posted your blogs that were past due, so it may seem tedious to do this again but today's reflection is on the following:

Seniors: Many of you recently completed your college application process. Please describe a little, in a reflective capacity, what that experience was like. Most people know it is stressful, but what advice would you pass on to younger students?

Juniors/Sophomores: Since for many this is not your first year in Leadership, what are some goals you would like to set for your class moving forward into the next year? Think about the possibilities of accomplishments or fundraisers or opportunities you would like to have for your classes.

Freshmen: As the smallest Leadership class, but almost always the largest class on campus, brainstorm some ways in which you can help reach out to your class better. Sometimes this is hard, due to the size of the group, but are there teachers, student-leaders or more who could help you speak to more of your class? What do you do for students who just don't know you well as their representative?

Make sure all responses are at least 3 paragraphs long. Pictures are optional. Good luck!

New Challenges and Responsibilities to conquer...

         As an upcoming Junior going into my 3rd of high school, it is really hard transitioning into the footsteps of the Seniors (Class of 2017). The Seniors have really accomplished a lot of milestones in their pass years in high school, from Winning Float their junior year to having a lot of students pass their AP classes test. Coming into my junior year I really want my class to strive and accomplish many goals like the upperclassmen and hopefully accomplish more than them. This goal is really a huge goal  to for-fill but it isn't impossible for the Class of 2018. Junior year will be a success for us.
         In my Junior year, I have come across and faces a lot of challenges both mentally and physically. One challenge I have came across this year and am really proud of is when I took charge of the first ever "Back to school dance". The dance was really challenging to me because it was
De Anza's Very first "Back to school dance". I had never had a dance of this kind and thats what make it complicated. I took charge and done a lot of things to try to make the dance look good. My committee and I worked really hard to make it great, and it turned out to be a really fun first time "Back to school dance". Till this day I am really proud of my committee of students and myself for putting a really great dance together.
     

CHAPTER 2016

Starting off this year was intense because of float, block schedule, dances, and rallies. If you ask me how I pulled through it all I had a great team. I got all new officers and new independents that I needed to teach the how the leadership system work. One of the big projects we did in leadership was float and it`s not easy it consumes a lot of time and effort. I`m almost positive that this year everyone that worked on float this year almost cried when they announced that the Junior class won first place. We knew that all our hard work and countless hours pulled off. 

Fundraising is another huge part of the Junior class. We nearly quadruple our account in 3-4 months of the school year. We always try new things to see what makes a better profit. However, I personally don`t like taking risks when selling new things because of the fear of losing money. Most people call me an entrepreneur. In my opinion they are not wrong. 

I am very thankful for my team this year and all the hard work we do. I`m very excited for what the rest of this year has for me. 

Prime Time

Welcome back De Anza! We started the year off with a BANG and there's so much more in store for the rest of this school year. This year, we've been brave enough to experiment with new events and  ideas, such as our very first Back to School Dance, our Link Crew program, block schedule, and much more. Although, we still never fail to keep up with our De Anza traditions, such as float and Homecoming!

As you may know, Homecoming week is one of the hardest for our students, but yet we still manage to overcome the stress and anxiety to produce something great. All of our classes created outstanding floats with the help of one another. In addition, the dance was a hit and everyone looked fantastic! We had a great turnout of students and everyone had a great time. 

We've overcome a lot of new things this school year, and it's only just begun! There's still so much more waiting to happen and we'd love for our De Anza family to come and participate through it all. So far, we've been successful with it all and we plan to keep building traditions for our school and community. Stay tuned for what's next, we have much more in store!

C/O 2017

  My final year in High School has barely been here and it's already been a roller coaster. Every time I look up there is something frustrating, funny, stressful, or exciting going on. Although it can get hectic at times, I know at the end of the day, it's very worth it. I am learning a lot, growing day by day, and enjoying (almost) every moment I spend here at De Anza with people I love & experiences I will cherish forever.
  Joining leadership has been one of those major learning experiences for me. From now since the day I joined, I learned to be a team player while also being able to maintain my individuality, how to voice my opinion without offending others, how to keep focused on responsibilities, how to please a crowd while following rules, and so much more. Throughout leadership I have also had a lot of times that I enjoyed. My favorite experience has to be playing music at lunch with my friends. I really love to see DA joined together by just a few bangers on the speakers. It can get pretty crazy at times, but, at the end of the day, everyone is having a great time and that's all that really matters to me.
  Handling all the projects and activities leadership is involved with can be hard, but being apart of leadership definitely has it's perks. When there isn't much going on, I am able to get work from other classes done, and also get help with work, which takes some of the load off from academic responsibilities. Volunteering is mandatory in leadership, but optional on college apps, and that ultimately helps to stand out when applying to colleges which I appreciate. I am currently apart of the   November December Charity Commitee, in which I am able to help organize fundraisers, food drives, etc. for homeless, foster children and more. That is something that I really love to do and being able to do this through leadership just makes my heart light up something fierce.
  With all the looming responsibilities and college apps I have to go through , I have to say leadership. is definitely preparing me to be a well rounded freshman in college and I am so grateful

A Senior Year's Start

Change is something that many people can agree is often necessary, but in practice, we are often very reluctant to embrace it. This is especially true when jumping into something head on with no prior experience. This next year, as I go through the college application process, take on new AP classes, prepare events for my senior class, and finally prepare to walk the stage in June, there are many changes that I know I will have to personally encounter,

I found that the general opinion among the school about the block schedule was the feeling of uncertainty. Not many of us had ever experienced a block schedule. I'm now in love with it. Not only do we have longer passing periods and lunches, but it's also easier to manage my homework now that assignments aren't due the next day.

Anyway, my last first quarter was definitely one of the most busiest and stressful I have ever been in my entire high school career. Between sports, float, AP classes, college apps, and scholarships, it would be an understatement to say I wasn't going a little bit crazy.

After the relentlessly torturous Homecoming process (with the rally, dance, and parade floats), Homecoming week finally arrived. Everything went very well. The dance was a success, the rally was well-maintanced, and all of the floats were absolutely gorgeous, reminding me of how I will miss this long-standing tradition of De Anza once I graduate. Shout out to the Juniors' float! They went above and beyond with their amazing float, and deserved the first place trophy! Now that's it's over, while I will miss a lot of things about float (like eating Mrs. Bordas' delicious cooking), I am relieved I will never separate a two-ply napkin, fold it in an accordion style, and scratch myself while trying to place it into chicken wire holes.

Moving on, I look forward to the rest of my last year at De Anza. I'm excited for all the activities we're going to be organizing not just for the school, but for my Class of 2017. The senior sunrise started off an exciting year of change and transition, and I can't wait to continue planning other events like Prom and Grad Night!

The Final Beginning

So far this year in Leadership has been a great experience. In such a short amount of time we have accomplished so much from Homecoming Float to running social media pages for the school, and to just everyday Leadership life, both inside and outside of school. I feel that this year we are really making in difference in our  De Anza Community and raising our school spirit to heights that this school has never been to and that's something for all of us in our community to be very proud of.

One of the biggest projects we have done and will do this whole year is our Homecoming Floats that each class does. Float is a huge tradition here at De Anza and is something that is not taken lightly. It was countless hours of long, tedious work that took up essentially every day and every night, with weekends turning into all-nighters of full on fluffing and folding all types of napkins. It may not seem like the most glorious thing, all the hard work, but the connections you make and that special moments you share with your classmates is something I wouldn't trade for anything. I remember sitting there at 3 o'clock in the morning among all my friends that were left there thinking, "Wow. This is it. This is the last time we're all going to be spending time like this together." It really hit me in that moment how special and unique the experience of, not only making an incredible piece of art in our float, but having the opportunity to make these powerful bonds with people I may not see at all in the span of a year. It's truly something I will cherish for a very long time.

The main thing that I do in Leadership this year is running the social media pages and doing the announcements for De Anza. It may not seem like the biggest job but I feel like it is making a big impact on our school community. Keeping on top of the social media pages is no easy task with all the events and activities that go on inside and outside of the school. The reason I feel that it makes such a big impact within our community is when I see activity on the pages beyond the students in De Anza and see middle school students commenting that they're excited to come to this school or alumni saying that they are proud of what the school is doing. And we are doing really great things at De Anza these days and that is a tradition that I hope continues for decades to come.

Final Year

      It is incredible to think that this is my final year in Leadership. I have been apart of Leadership for four years now, and it is sad that it is all coming to an end now. However, I look back at the years and realize how much I've grown and found my leadership style. I have learned so much from my peers in the past. Now I can plan rallies, dances, spirit weeks, etc.

      Homecoming week, as usual, is very hectic for the Leadership class. Float for the seniors this year wasn't the best as how it has been in the past years. We may not have gotten first place, but I think what matters is that we came together and enjoyed our last all nighters, eating two for a dollar jack and the box tacos, going through the terrifying drive towards Sheldon, being afraid of the float falling to shambles, and getting cut by chicken wire one last time. It is important that we enjoyed those last moments together because for most of us that was our last time building a float. Homecoming week was full of stressful and rewarding moments. This year, I was able to plan the largest homecoming dance in De Anza History. Although it was stressful and definitely not as easy as I thought it would be, it was all worth it in the end. I believe that everyone enjoyed themselves and are now looking forward to more dances.

    Overall, the start of the year has been challenging for me. It has been hard trying to balance AP classes, homework, friends, family, and college applications all at once. However, I know I'll get through it and it will all be worth it when I get to walk down that stage and receive my diploma. It is now hitting me that sadly, I won't see most of my friends once we graduate. We are all going to move on and go onto to do better things. As a senior, I have to take advantage of doing everything one last time. Now, I am starting to understand what people meant when they said senior year goes by really fast. I know it is only the beginning of senior year, but soon it is going to be June and I am going to be left wondering where did the time go. I just have to focus on my grades and making as much memories as possible in this school with my friends one last time.

The Year So Far...

     As I entered my third year of  leadership as a Junior at De Anza High school, my mind is curious as to what lies ahead for this year. So far, only the first quarter of the school year has gone by and yet so much has happened. The first major thing in leadership that we did was our traditional First Rally. In the First Rally, we kicked off the school year with a bang with games, performances, and a whole lot of screaming as everyone was getting pumped for the school year to begin. All in all, the First Rally was a complete success and the incoming freshmen got a taste of what it's like to be a DA Don. 

     The next major events to happen afterwards was Homecoming. Homecoming was, as it usually is, a success. Many students came out to have fun and dance. Although, not everything was perfect because there was a couple of complications that occurred, one being that there was not enough food or drinks, especially water, to satisfy everyone. However, those problems were more or less dealt with accordingly and everyone had a good time. 

     Finally, this following major event is many people's favorite because of the hard work and dedication put into it that truly represents a beautiful and long lasting event at De Anza and that is Float! All four classes competed in trying their absolute best to create the best float out of the theme that was chosen and this year, the theme was Disney.However, a minor complication with the weather forced float to be delayed and pushed back one week. Some count it as a miracle for some precious extra days while others were anxious to have Float to happen. Now for the results! In fourth place came the Freshmen with an amazingly done Stitch surfing float. Up next was the Sophomore's who got third place with a colorful float design of Dumbo. In second place is the Senior class, with a high and mighty Simba for their Lion King float. The class that ended up winning float was the Junior class. This class has been craving for three years to be able to come on top of the senior class and win the trophy that is associated with winning float, which they will be able to design to their liking and will be on display at the front office's trophy case. Overall, Float put on a grand feat and everyone who assisted felt great pride in the hard work that they did and those who watched were amazed by the extraordinary floats. 

The Beginning

Quarter 1 is always the toughest most hectic quarter for me. Coming back from Summer break can be difficult to get back into the swing of things. This year I wanted to get more involved with my school since it is my Senior year. I joined the program Link Crew and so far I’ve enjoyed it. I really do think Link Crew has had a part in helping better our De Anza community. For example, the number of fights this year has decreased dramatically. Besides that, it has helped me to improve my Leadership skills and to get to know a few of the freshmen this year.

This year is my 3rd and last year in Leadership. I wanted to make the most out of it so I got more involved in float and the homecoming dance. Since I am in ASB I don’t necessarily have to help out with my class’s float. I didn’t really help out a lot with my class’s float last year and I regret it because I felt like I missed out on a lot. I really enjoy helping out with float because with the amount of time we spend together everyone bonds and new friendships are formed. This year, compared to previous years, there wasn’t that many Seniors involved with float. It made it more difficult to finish on time because we needed all the help we could get. At the end we managed to finish on time and I was very happy with our finished float.

Since it was supposed to rain on homecoming day, we had to move our float parade and rally to next week. I’m glad we ended up doing that because having the parade, rally, football game, and dance all in one day would have been way too much. This year I decided to take charge of the homecoming dance alongside Diana Trujano. The dance turned out to be great and over 500 students came. It was the biggest dance at DA yet. Although we had a great turnout, there were a few things I would have changed if I were to do it again. For example, we should have ordered the decorations way more in advance. A lot of the decorations we ordered didn’t come in on time. So I had to drive back and forth to different stores to buy new decorations the same day of setting up. This gave us less time on setting up. Compared to last years homecoming, I like it better when we have it on a weekend. We get more time on setting up and we don’t feel so rushed. Also, the students who were helping with setting up wouldn’t have missed the homecoming game if it were on a weekend. At the end, everyone enjoyed the dance.

So far Leadership has been going well so far! This year we have already tried new ideas and have been improving our De Anza culture. I can’t wait to see what other great moments will come!

Have You Heard of the New De Anza? Ya? Let Me Tell You a Little More.

         I'm pretty sure that more than often some of us look back at our four awesome years of high school and say "aah, those were the days" Don't you ever wonder if your high school years are the same type of  experience that us teenagers get? You ever wonder what goes on in the lives of an average high school student in the bay area? I don't know what other high schools are doing, but let me tell you what us Dons are doing at De Anza.

   

   Freshmen Orientation, Link Crew, First Day of School, First Home Football Game of 2016, Welcome back Rally, First Friday, Club Week, Welcome Back Dance, De Anza's very OWN Geo-tag on snap chat, not one but TWO full weeks of Homecoming Rally Week, Homecoming Dance, Homecoming Floats, Homecoming Football Games, School Mannequin Challenge, the list is just endless. All of these events were made possible by the leadership crew, and other De Anza helpers. These are only few of what us as De Anza Dons have done together, and the year is just beginning. The one that had to stand out from all these is homecoming.

    

        Quarter one always starts out stressful for leadership students, not just because we just started our classes, it's because of float and homecoming. Quarter one has to be the most fun yet hard time for leadership students, but it's all worth it. This is an experience that can have a positive impact on anybody, not just the students at De Anza, but the teachers, staff, admin, custodians, site supervisors, and everyone that is involved with the De Anza atmosphere. We only get 4 years, and we should enjoy them while it lasts. Me as a senior in high school, as the secretary for the senior class of 2017, wouldn't miss any of these events for the world.

       

what's next :)

         Quarter 1 has been a lot of fun.For this begin my second year in leadership I have to say our leadership class has been really organized and open minded.Everyone in class has great ideas and everyone wants to try new things.We have so much going on for example the welcome back dance really started the school year fun.We also have spirit weeks,welcome back rally,club week and homecoming rally/dance and not to forget about float every class did such a great job.
       Even though quarter 1 has been fun but it really pushed my stress limits.I really had a hard time managing my time.Being a student athlete is hard because you have to mange school and sport at same time and me taking Ap for the first time has even made it harder but thanks to block schedule for making it easy when I get home from practice I do not have to be awake all night doing my homework for all my seven classes.
      The biggest event De anza has had so far is our homecoming rally/dance.Both events went very well and organized.Majority of De anza seem to enjoy the events that were held.Everyone seemed to have a great time watching and participating at homecoming rally.The homecoming dance was great.We sold more tickets than we expected.Everyone in our leadership class work so hard on all these events and made them amazing.I cant wait to see what comes next.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

The Quarter Of Crowns!

              This quarter has definitely turned out much different than expected. My leadership class has improved by so much in comparison to last year. With our float being much better than last years and our class becoming closer, things have certainly changed for the better. But I order to have this improvement the sophomore leadership class had to go  through lots of stress. But in the end it was all worth it, and I've gain so many happy memories.

                De Anza's recent change to block schedules made me question how beneficial having two hour classes might be. After being familiar to this new change I grew to become very happy with it. Block Schedule ended up helping me in many ways. It has helped me balance all my classes, and dedicate certain days to certain classes. Which helped me achieve the highest grades I've had in high school.

              This first quarter ended up being really great in so many ways. I ended up being extremely proud of my class, my sophomores in leadership, and myself. I can't wait for what the future has in store for leadership and myself. In addition to that, so far my sophomore year at De Anza has been really fun and exciting. I would like to thank everybody who helped me achieve my goals, and the sophomore leadership class for working so hard.

       

A Learning Experience

         

          This first quarter has been an amazing experience that I will never forget! One memorable moment from this quarter was when the freshman leadership was first told about float and all of the work we needed to do in such a small amount of time. Our eyes widened and I think I heard Cassia, our president, wince. With the help of ASB, we got our bearings and began to work. We poured all of our free time into the float and became very, very stressed. This aroused conflicts but in the end, we all supported each other, which, in turn, bonded us even more.

          We did end up coming out with a win! All of our hard work paid off when we road into the track and saw our freshmen shout, cheer, and chant for our class! The spirit embraced us and all of our stress seemed to wash away. Our win wasn't a trophy for float or a spirit week win, it was the memories, friendships, and pride that float gave us.
          As a freshman entering leadership, I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know how to make a float, fundraise, or organize rallies. Luckily everyone in leadership was so accepting and helpful! They showed us how to accomplish the things we needed to do in a somewhat timely fashion and also helped us with moral support. With the help of leadership, friends, and family, we reached all of our goals for first quarter. Since this quarter was so successful, I can't wait to see what we are going to achieve within the next couple of months!

Mariana Barsotti

Being Involved

In the beginning of the school year I was a part of Link Crew. Link Crew is a freshmen transition program that helps welcome incoming freshmen and makes them feel welcome. I wanted to become a Link Crew leader because I wanted to  create a chain of kindness around my campus. When I was a freshman, I had a lot of speculation about high schools due to the rumors I have heard and really wish Link Crew was around my freshman year. I am fortunate to be part of the first class to be involved with Link Crew. I have created amazing bonds with my freshmen and have help them become more aware of the school. The most valuable lesson I learned as a Link Crew leader is that everyone can benefit from forming positive relationships with each other. This program has help me improved on my leadership skills and has changed my way of thinking. All these new qualities I have learned will be used to help out my leadership class this year.

The best event so far that Leadership has hosted would have to be the homecoming dance. I was part of the homecoming decorating team, it was stressful due to limited time we had. We mange to push through and finish with time to spare. The theme this year was Enchanted Evening; the gym was decorated with twinkling lights and mini trees as center pieces. The dance had a huge turn out, in fact it had the highest attendance De Anza has ever had. Everyone had a great time dancing the night away.

Even though this is my second year in Leadership, one would except it to be easier the second time around, that is definitely not the case.  Leadership is always busy, especially in the beginning of the school year. We have to get new officers for freshmen, attend float regularly, plan our first rally and then start planning for our homecoming rally/ dance. It seems as if the stress never ends. Do not be alarm, Leaderships is such an amazing class that I have been involved in. It gives one a thorough overview of the qualities of a good leader, while also allowing one to put these skills into practice in classrooms and community settings.

First year of leadership

So for my first year of leadership. It was stressful for me in the beginning,

Because I had to go in play football games and attend practices  a lot and I would not have

Time to go to float and stuff like that and that makes me upset that couldn't go to float.

But sometimes in leadership it would be fun where I can help out with my class with setting up 

Decorations for like our rally. For example our first rally the welcome rally to me was fun because I can get out of class early to see what I can do as a independent and help my class out .

                                   

                                We had two big rally's we had to do this year and it was the welcome rally

And the homecoming rally. The first rally was a good one because I got too see what it was like to be in leadership and see how it works. In that rally I got too set up and blow balloons make the sign for our class. It was fun because I got to do help out and not be bored in a class room. But the first rally was good I think everybody enjoyed it and had fun !.  Now the homecoming rally that was this year it was better than last year, because there was better MC. I liked about this rally was that the floats was really good this year. 

My experience with leadership so far is that it's really fun and stressful at times 

But I know I can do it with my class because I know they got my back

Quarter 1 just ended and I got the grades that I wanted. Hopefully next quarter I will

Do way better than my last quarter. I just have to keep up with the pace of my classes.

Also the block schedule that they added this year I really liked how they gave us more 

More time in class so we can finish our homework.

This Is Just The Beginning

Within this past quarter, there have been many events and new experiences in Leadership that have impacted me. From countless hours spent on folding napkins, to selling food every week, they've been a few things that have kept me going in this class. Along with new experiences, were new lessons that complimented them as well. Solely based upon the first quarter, I've taken more initiative and become more hardworking, with the help of my peers during that time.

Prior to the storm, was a sense of calm, yet time consuming business. Long story short, Club Week was an effective way of getting students more involved with some of the extracurricular activities at DeAnza as they explored the opportunities provided. This week was able to establish a stronger foundation of school culture that was as equally engaging as the welcome rally.
Speaking of a certain event that was especially stressful and draining, was definitely float. The whole shebang of float itself. Despite all of the sore fingers and Advil pills that were taken, it was well worth it in the end. Float is something that I portray as the epitome of DeAnza traditions, courtesy of this class and I'm happy that I was able to contribute. To showcase our floats, the classes were able to drive them around the track and at Sheldon Elementary for the homecoming parade/rally. On that note, the rally and parade were both productive, resulting in a success for the Leadership class.

All in all, this is just the beginning and with what the future beholds, comes a time full of pride, stress, and competition. The first of everything will eventually become times to reflect on and grow from, not only as individuals, but the Leadership class in general. With that being said, I'm excited for all of the new experiences we'll take on and represent as leaders of the school!

An Uplifting Experience

    What exactly does leadership do? How can being a part of leadership, give you an inside track on changing your school for the better? These are questions I had before I got excepted into leadership this year. But after about 2 1/2 months of being involved in leadership, I really feel as if I know my school inside-out. I know exactly what the spirit days are and what major events are going around at De Anza, which allows me to tell my peers so that they can get involved as well.
    To be honest, leadership can get very stressful, especially during rally weeks. But the feeling that I receive when I see my fellow peers getting involved is well worth it. Leadership has challenged me to work outside my comfort zone which has benefited me so much already. Truth be told, I thought that leadership class was going to be a waste of class, study hall, but it's so much more. Not only are we involved with everything that goes on at the school, we take pride and discuss every little detail because our vibe is be great or why do it.
   An additional amazing experience I've been blessed to be involved with in leadership is fundraising. I've never really put on a fundraiser by myself before because I didn't know how to do it. But with the guidance of Mr.Hillyer and our wonderful junior president Gladis Mendoza, I'm slowly learning how to guide an outstanding fundraiser. I've had so many wonderful experiences and learned so many life altering traits already, I can't wait to continue learning as this year goes on.

2016-Quarter 1 Reflection

     The first quarter here at De Anza has really pushed my stress limits.  I think the biggest issue I had was time management. With getting use to the new block schedule, being in an AP class for the first time, of course float, and other factors I really had my plate full. Besides stress, all those factors I've mentioned didn't really allow me to get much sleep, which eventually contributed to my stress.

     Besides the bad, good has came out of this first quarter as well. Compared to last year, the high  school experience has really changed for me. Because of leadership, my eyes have been opened to realize that building community and being involved in your school is very important. This opportunity has allowed me to contribute my efforts more in school events such as school rallies, dances, and other activities. Going back to near the beginning of the school year, leadership put on the Welcome Rally. I must admit it was a really exciting opportunity for me to get involved here at DA and get to know DA's culture a little bit more.

     The biggest event so far here at  DA was the Homecoming Rally/Dance. Honestly, both went very well and were very successful. A majority of DA seemed to enjoy the events that were held such as the parade, rally, and dance. Everyone seemed to have a great time watching clubs, sports teams, academies, and each class's floats come around the track. Also, the Homecoming Dance was a major hit. We sold more tickets than we expected and everyone seemed to have a fantastic evening. Even though leadership's blood, sweat, and tears went into these events, especially float, it was all worth it in the end. Truthfully, I can't wait to be a part of many more DA events this school year and witness the DA culture being spread around.

     

                                                               All Worth It 



                                                       

Going into this school year I knew I wanted to be more involved in school in any way possible. I knew joining clubs and being in leadership would be the best way for me to actually enjoy involvement with school. It was already too late for me to join leadership until Sophomore President said they needed one more independent and chose me as the new sophomore independent. First rally somewhat consisted of me wanting to help with the games but was too shy because I had just joined like two days before. It was all a great first rally of the year and great first rally that I helped set up. As for club week, I'd say so much more people came out of their comfort zones and joined all types of clubs that nobody knew they'd ever join. There's also many new clubs this year too !

          Homecoming was full of stress and anxiety for all of leadership to be honest. For all who helped with float and weren't done, were the most stressed out of all of us. Homecoming seemed like it lasted forever due to the fact we had to change the date of the rally and parade because of the weather. Homecoming overall was all a success, which includes the dance, rally, and floats/parade. For the dance so much more people showed up than we expected and not all just from our school which was kind of surprising how much people from other schools there was. As for the parade, I can't really say because I took one for the team and stayed to set up the rally while most of leadership was helping with getting the float ready for the parade. The rally was a huge success, it looked like everyone had fun and in my opinion, this years rally was so much more organized and overall I guess "better" than last years. So yeah sure, homecoming can be stressful but it's been the best experience             I've had in leadership so far ! And it's only the beginning !
                                                   
                                                                                             

Leadership in general has been such a great experience. You get to meet new people and become friends with all the other genuinely good and kind people in leadership. You get to volunteer in so many events, so you're not only involved in school but you're involved with the city in general. I don't regret joining leadership one bit because I mean yeah it was kind of hard to balance leadership and your other classes during homecoming but once that's over I'd say joining leadership was the best decision I've made because of the people I've became friends with and how many different things you learn each day. It's just nice knowing people come to you when they have questions that involve school whether it's about upcoming events or where to find a teachers room. Leadership just genuinely keeps me positive and optimistic all the time.