Principal Paul A. Wardinski has expanded PAW’s Posse this year in an effort to increase student involvement and be more in tune with the student body.

In September, one student from each class volunteered to be their seventh period’s representative to attend meetings for PAW’s Posse, where they participate in an open discussion between students and staff about current issues and announcements.

“We stole the idea from Westfield. [Their student body] is a lot bigger than [ours] and if it works there, I feel that it can be successful here as well,” said Wardinski.

Both student participants and administration believe the newly rejuvenated program will encourage students to voice their comments about school issues. Student Government Association (SGA) officers also attend the monthly meetings. The program resembles a student congress, and the idea of greater representation appeals to those involved.

“It creates connections and lets the administration talk straight to students, it helps them to know what kids are saying,” said senior SGA representative Emily Esposito. “It lets us get the opinions of kids that would normally not speak up.”

In previous years, PAW’s Posse has included only SGA officers. Wardinski hopes that including a representative from every class will help in communication between the student body and the administration.

“We wanted more cross representation,” said Wardinski, “A lot of the discussion is what they bring up, and it helps me, hearing it directly.”

The program has only held one meeting so far, but a variety of issues were talked about, including informing freshman about school activities and ensuring a smooth transition.

“They can tell us exactly what’s going on, it’s really helpful. Some freshmen don’t even know about Mr. Spartan or what SGA is or even who Wardinski is, and with this we can better inform them,” said Esposito.

Additionally Wardinski hopes that representatives will make sure they are taking questions from the students and communicating their topics back to them. Another major topic has been the renovations, and PAW’s Posse is being used to encourage students to be active in helping to beautify the school.

“The representatives help us make sure we know what if students have any concerns or good comments,” said Wardinski, “ it also helps them with leadership and we hope that it’s something they’ll be able to put down for college.”

 More meetings will be taking place over the next few months, and Wardinski wants to make sure that every student who wants to can share their thoughts.

“We wanted to expand it beyond SGA, because good people don’t always run for office,” said Wardinski.