WEST COLUMBIA, SC -- Pine Ridge Middle School’s Student Council has been honored with a top state award.
The council has been recognized as a 2020 Bronze Honor Council by the South Carolina Association of Student Councils. The recognition is given annually to schools with a strong record of leadership, service and activities that aim to improve the school and community.
In addition, the Pine Ridge council received two first place awards for specific projects:
Community Service: The council received a first place award for its Socktober Sock Drive and Souper Bowl of Caring. Students and teachers donated new socks (with the winning class getting a pizza party), with council collecting more than 200 new pairs. For the Souper Bowl, students donated canned goods to participate in a related arts buy out, while teachers donated for extra jeans days. Pine Ridge was the top canned goods collector among all of Lexington Two’s schools, raising more than 1,000 non-perishable items for Harvest Hope Food Bank.
Recreational Activity: The council received a first place award for its Tournies for Tornado Relief. Council sponsored basketball, wall ball, and chess tournaments for Pine Ridge students and took donations from participants. These funds went to purchase classroom materials for Pine Ridge’s “adopted” teacher from North Central High School in Kershaw County, which was devastated by a tornado.
“Honor Council gives councils a standard to meet,” said Pine Ridge teacher and council adviser Brian Schaffer. “It's a great tool to help us measure ourselves and plan our projects and activities for the academic year. It's also a way to provide recognition to councils who have consistently met the standards throughout the year.”
Pine Ridge Student Council members include Braelyn Addy, Tyler Broomfield, Ji”Myriah Buckley, LaMarria Burgess, Ellen Casanova, Allison Castillo-Estrada, Kimberly Chavez Jarquin, Courtney Chavis, Logan Crandall, Jeffrey Davis, Caylee Freeman, Ciera Ford, Aubrey Frye, Zyon Hammond, Andrew Hudson, Kyrin Lavington, Macie McCracken, Marleen Reyes-Cruz, Alyssa Ridgeway, Olivia Rish, Dalin Rodriguez, Kimberly Rojas-Mecinas, Elizabeth Sherrill, Trevor Williams, Tyler Woodward.