By Rebecca Gorelov ’14, Staff Writer

In between all of the snow days this winter, Newark Academy’s School Council has been hard at work. It has been planning different school events while also trying to get the student body’s voice heard during this snowy season. The three major events held this winter were Game Night, Voice Proposals, and the Black Light Dance, which were held against the backdrop of the beloved NA tradition of Winter Schminter.

For the past two years Newark Academy has hosted Game Night, and this year’s event was named “Game Night: Reshuffled.” According to School Council President Rebecca Ellis, Game Night was “fantastic, everyone came out and had fun!” The night consisted of a poker tournament, electric racecars, Dance Dance Revolution, and other games – a perfect opportunity for friends to get together and enjoy themselves. The poker tournament, in which Senior Neil Sethi won, was deemed “a great success” by 9th Grade President Coleman Hughes. Junior Shama Pandiri stated that this year’s Game Night was fun because “they had all different types of games that my friends and I could play.” Overall the event was a success and, according to Hughes, the Student Council was able to earn a profit.

Every year, as winter rolls around, so do Student Voice Proposals, which serve more utilitarian purposes than do the more entertainment-focused Game Night and winter season dance. Sponsored by the School Council and the School Administration, Voice Proposals are an opportunity for all students to suggest changes to the school. The School Council implemented a change this year when formulating Voice Proposals. Instead of the whole grade coming together to formulate ideas, each advisor group first met and brainstormed ideas. Later, each grade compiled their ideas, and a representative reported them to the entire council. According to Hughes, the change left “the students [from each advisor group] more prepared for when they met as a full class.” Non-council students were also pleased with the changes. Freshman Rebecca Antwi commented, “I like how we reviewed [and discussed potential changes] in advisor groups because I felt I was more prepared for the grade voice proposal meeting.” Overall the voice proposals proved to be a success.

This year’s School Council sought not only to improve the quality of life for Newark Academy students but to also create something new for their enjoyment – the Black Light Dance. In the past few years, the School Council has hosted a foam dance. However, due to numerous logistical issues, including issues with the potential for allergic reactions to the foam, the School Council decided not to renew the dance this year. According to School Council representative Sophomore Rachel Greene, “it was almost a split decision” when the council was debating the continuation of the foam dance. This year, the new dance took place in the Lautenberg Black Box on Friday, February 25th, and students sported white so as to glow in the black light. The School Council’s high hopes for the event were certainly met with a high turnout and happy participants, some particularly happy given the elimination of foam.

With all the improvements to the events held in the winter months, Newark Academy’s School Council has kicked off 2011 with the determination to strongly represent the student body. Hopefully, they can maintain this energy with spring right around the corner!