Editor's Note: As the first quarter comes to a close, Paw Print Now writer Talia Herbst interviewed Elinor Schlissel, the President of the Student Government, about her accomplishments so far and upcoming ideas for the school year.
Talia Herbst [TH]: What have you accomplished so far in the first quarter of the school year?
Elinor Schlissel [ES]: One thing we accomplished so far was having Fall Fest, where we gave out free munchkins and hot cocoa to the student body to celebrate the start of fall and also to show them that we are here to help them. Another big goal of mine that we accomplished is fixing up The Wing and making it a popular spot again. I always see people hanging out there and actually buying from the store, which is great to know that our efforts paid off. I think that thanks to the great team I have we're actually able to accomplish everything we have hoped to so far!
TH: What do you want to accomplish in the future?
ES: Something I want to work on in the future is getting a better turnout for the blood drives. I think that the blood drive is such a great opportunity to give back to the community. There is a lot of fear within the student body when it comes to donating. I am hoping we can help alleviate some of this so more lives can be saved. This year, the blood drive is also open to the Williston Park community for the first time since the war in Israel broke out. We kind of struggled with this blood drive getting our information out to the community, and I’m hoping we will be able to do this more effectively the next time around and have better community outreach in general.
TH: What events do you plan on having this year?
ES: We are currently working on a few events. One of these is actually going on next week, as we are hosting a Kindness Week in honor of Thanksgiving. We are partnering with different clubs to have fundraisers, or hand things out, every day next week to boost school morale. Student Government will be kicking off the week by doing thank-you-grams on Monday. [Another event we are working on is] our annual Winter Formal. Without revealing too much, I did want to point out that we are working on ways to make this a more exciting and engaging event this year. We will likely be having a fundraiser sometime soon so that we can make the Winter Formal the best it can possibly be. There will also be some great Hanukkah events coming up in December to look out for!
TH: What type of feedback have you received from both students and administration?
ES: We have received some great feedback from both the faculty and students. Something that meant a lot to me was the faculty that reached out after retreat, and told us that out of the many retreats they have attended, this past one was their favorite. We’ve also had some great feedback from students about the improvements we have made to The Wing, especially with our constantly evolving stock of The Wing. I’ve also heard from students that they want more people to attend sports games, which is something I would love or happen. I plan on working with the Paw Print Live club to work on this.
TH: Is there anything you would have done differently this quarter?
ES: While I don’t think I would necessarily do anything differently this quarter, I have definitely learned from this quarter and will be carrying some of those things with me into the next. For example, I’m still learning what’s the best and more effective way to conduct Student Government meetings so that we can have fun and also get what we need done, and I think I’m starting to find that balance a little bit more.
TH: Anything else you would like to add?
ES: I just want to say that I have such an amazing team on the Student Government this year that I am very thankful for. Both the reps and the exec are very dedicated and hard working people, so it has been really great working with everyone, and I am very proud of what we have been able to accomplish together as a team!
Elinor Schlissel [ES]: One thing we accomplished so far was having Fall Fest, where we gave out free munchkins and hot cocoa to the student body to celebrate the start of fall and also to show them that we are here to help them. Another big goal of mine that we accomplished is fixing up The Wing and making it a popular spot again. I always see people hanging out there and actually buying from the store, which is great to know that our efforts paid off. I think that thanks to the great team I have we're actually able to accomplish everything we have hoped to so far!
TH: What do you want to accomplish in the future?
ES: Something I want to work on in the future is getting a better turnout for the blood drives. I think that the blood drive is such a great opportunity to give back to the community. There is a lot of fear within the student body when it comes to donating. I am hoping we can help alleviate some of this so more lives can be saved. This year, the blood drive is also open to the Williston Park community for the first time since the war in Israel broke out. We kind of struggled with this blood drive getting our information out to the community, and I’m hoping we will be able to do this more effectively the next time around and have better community outreach in general.
The high school is lucky to be under Elinor's leadership! (E. Schlissel)
ES: We are currently working on a few events. One of these is actually going on next week, as we are hosting a Kindness Week in honor of Thanksgiving. We are partnering with different clubs to have fundraisers, or hand things out, every day next week to boost school morale. Student Government will be kicking off the week by doing thank-you-grams on Monday. [Another event we are working on is] our annual Winter Formal. Without revealing too much, I did want to point out that we are working on ways to make this a more exciting and engaging event this year. We will likely be having a fundraiser sometime soon so that we can make the Winter Formal the best it can possibly be. There will also be some great Hanukkah events coming up in December to look out for!
TH: What type of feedback have you received from both students and administration?
ES: We have received some great feedback from both the faculty and students. Something that meant a lot to me was the faculty that reached out after retreat, and told us that out of the many retreats they have attended, this past one was their favorite. We’ve also had some great feedback from students about the improvements we have made to The Wing, especially with our constantly evolving stock of The Wing. I’ve also heard from students that they want more people to attend sports games, which is something I would love or happen. I plan on working with the Paw Print Live club to work on this.
TH: Is there anything you would have done differently this quarter?
ES: While I don’t think I would necessarily do anything differently this quarter, I have definitely learned from this quarter and will be carrying some of those things with me into the next. For example, I’m still learning what’s the best and more effective way to conduct Student Government meetings so that we can have fun and also get what we need done, and I think I’m starting to find that balance a little bit more.
TH: Anything else you would like to add?
ES: I just want to say that I have such an amazing team on the Student Government this year that I am very thankful for. Both the reps and the exec are very dedicated and hard working people, so it has been really great working with everyone, and I am very proud of what we have been able to accomplish together as a team!
Talia Herbst is a writer for Paw Print Now and has been published on the site since December 2021. Talia is currently a senior at the Schechter School of Long Island and can be reached at the following email address: therbst25@schechterli.org.
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