On Monday, December 12th, 2016, the Battlefield High School Student Council Association held its first ever all member assembly during sixth period. The 126 member group was treated to a general “housekeeping”, where they were given updates on the status of future projects, a presentation from keynote speaker and the Gainesville district school board member, Alyson Satterwhite, and were able to vote on four resolutions on behalf of the school.

The SCA officers discussed the many different projects that they would be involved in for the rest of the year, including starting SCAs at both Ronald Reagan Middle School and Bull Run Middle School, and their Virginia SCA project “Share a Cat”. To keep their state certification, they must participate in a state-wide service project, this year’s project will be to donate stuffed animal bobcats to children who are in the hospital. The SCA will be raising money for this through various activities, however these have not been set in stone yet. The BHS SCA’s main goal is to create future leaders who are ready to help their community; the choice for the guest speaker fit this idea perfectly.

Alyson Satterwhite began her local political career in 2011 when she was elected into office as a school board member. Her advocation for students, and her belief that none should fall through the cracks made her a very popular choice for voters of the area. Mrs. Satterwhite gave her presentation on leadership, your impact on the community, and how to be a good leader. She refers to herself as a servant leader; she was never in her position for the power, but rather, serving and helping the people. Being a personable leader was her biggest point. Mrs. Satterwhite recognizes how her votes affect students, teachers, and parents, and says that as a good leader, doing what is right is important. However, with all of the pressure of being a leader, she knows how hard it is to stay balanced. “A good leader knows that it is important to take care of themselves before others,” she says, implying that a good leader cannot lead if they are not performing at their best ability and keeping balance.

Mrs. Satterwhite’s general tips for staying balanced:

• Remember to breath
• Relax
• Stay healthy eat right
• Have a strong support system, invest in them and they’ll be there for you
• Sleep; with enough sleep you’ll be able to work at your highest capacity
• Exercise; it relieves stress

The most important part of the convention was the resolution session. Headed by SCA President Phil Choi and the other officers, delegates had 30 seconds to plead their case on why a resolution should be passed or not. After all opinions were heard, delegates would vote by voice; “aye” to pass it, “nay” to not pass it, and abstain to not vote. Whichever was louder would be the vote, although, if it was indistinguishable which was louder, a vote by hands would take place. Of five resolution, only four were voted on.

1. SCA/Class offices storage facility
   This resolution offered a solution for the storage shortage at Battlefield. The SCA and each class needs space to hold supplies for dances and other events, and because each incoming freshman class faces a shortage of supplies and funds, the student council requested the following; BHS administration reviews storage options and designate a space for class and SCA storage and the SCA adopts a policy that outgoing seniors pass down supplies that were unused to the incoming freshman class. This resolution received a unanimous vote of “aye” from the delegates.
2. Service groups coordinating committee
   This resolution was the target of BHS’s philanthropic ways. The SCA would be able to create a committee of student leaders to help organize and create fundraisers  throughout the year. The ultimate goal would be to combine resources and try to expand the range of the fundraising from the school, to share with other schools and unite the community to help a charity. The delegates were divided, and the vocal vote moved to a hand raise vote, where 20 voted “aye”, 14 abstained, and 24 voted “nay”. This resolution was not passed.
3. Task force for student enrollment
   This resolution offered a solution to a growing problem at Battlefield. People always get locked out from the trailers; whether it be on the way to lunch or switching classes or going to the restrooms. The SCA proposed that a group of students could be waiting at the door, always are there to let people in. The delegates voted “aye”, with the goal of forming this task force by the end of the 2016-2017 school year.
4. Joint-Ticket of SCA President and Vice President
   The final resolution was to change SCA bylaws so that president and Vice Presidential candidates run as a team. This led to a divide in the delegates, and a hand vote, however 20 voted “aye” and 29 voted “nay”, so this will not be in place for the SCA elections later in the school year.

The fifth and final resolution, that of bringing a Speech/Debate class to the halls of Battlefield was not discussed. The SCA has big things in store for the bobcat community, and always has their best interest in mind.