The last Monday of every month, the campus student leadership team attends a West Sierra League (WSL) meeting at one of their fellow Division 5 high schools.

While attending these meetings, student leadership teams from various schools discuss ideas regarding school activities. The purpose of these meetings is to give ideas to one another and learn about other schools, which are often thought of only as sports rivals.

“I think these meetings are great,” Ericlee Gilmore, student leadership adviser, said. “Other students in our league give our students wonderful ideas about different activities we could use at our school.”

Students in leadership enjoy these meetings because they gain ideas to help school activities become better.

“The meetings are good because you get ideas from other schools,” Tara Albrechtson, ’06, said. “The ride up is also fun because it gives us quality time together as a leadership team.”

Yet some students who go to the WSL meeting are not always satisfied with their outcomes.

“Sometimes the other schools have good ideas,” Carson Belmont, ’05, said. “But, because of our school’s size and the fact that we are Christian school, we can’t always pull off some of the ideas that we’d like to.”

Rivalries between WSL schools are often demonstrated in sports. Campus teams compete with Fowler, Liberty, Caruthers, Mendota and Firebaugh.

However, students can forget that amidst all the competition, each school is working towards the same goals, whether in sports or school activities.

“Schools are there to promote and support each other, as well as to succeed,” Josh Tosland, student leadership adviser, said. “Our school belongs to a larger group, the WSL, and all the schools in it want to promote it to be its best.”

Student leadership last went to a WSL meeting on Sept. 27. During the meeting they discussed the successes of each school’s Homecoming plans, lunchtime activities and how to get students involved.

“”The WSL meetings are beneficial,”” Gilmore said, “”because other leadership groups share new ideas that we haven’t done or thought of before. Often we do the same activities year after year and these meetings provide new ideas we can try.””

Students agree with their advisor’s opinion.

“I think the meeting was a success,” Belmont said. “The best part of the meeting was at the end when we all went to Panda Express for lunch.”

FC did not participate in the Oct. 26 meeting due to Homecoming activities on campus.

For more information about WSL meetings, contact Gilmore at 299-1695, ext. 5. The next WSL meeting will be Nov. 29 at a currently undesignated school.