Skyline Students Share Thoughts On School With Board Of Education

Skyline students Christopher Wilks, Cameryn Boyd, Sarika Tyagi, Nadina Hassan, and Lars Hallstrom addressed the Board of Education.
Skyline students Christopher Wilks, Cameryn Boyd, Sarika Tyagi, Nadina Hassan, and Lars Hallstrom addressed the Board of Education.

By Andrew Cluley

Communications Specialist

With the Board of Education meeting this week at Skyline High School, five students got the chance to share their thoughts about Skyline.

For Senior Sarika Tyagi, Skyline’s magnet programs have kindled a passion and a drive to pursue a career in health sciences. “The magnet has given me the rare opportunity to perform and investigate college and hospital-level labs while still in high school, and has opened up opportunities for job shadowing, internships, and partnerships with public health organizations such as Project Healthy Schools,” Tyagi said.

Skyline also offers magnet programs in Design, Technology, and Environmental Planning; Communications, Media, and Public Policy; and Business, Management, and Informational Technology.

Cameryn Boyd shared her thoughts on school events, particularly those that are unique to Skyline High School such as Link Crew. The organization helps incoming students make the transition from middle school. Boyd said, “Link Crew provides a way for the freshman to meet their peers before school starts and to gain important knowledge and useful tips from the experienced upperclassmen, from how to work the sinks to how to navigate the confusing hallways of skyline.”

From fundraising for Food Gatherers, to winning awards in music, robotics, and athletics, Junior Lars Hallstrom said there has been plenty of good news at Skyline this year. Hallstrom told the Board of Education the Skyline Robotics team has qualified for the World Championship in Saint Louis. He also said students are leaders in supporting their classmates. “The camaraderie that we show as a school propelled our student section to be ranked 6th in the state by a recent MLive poll,” Hallstrom said.

While Skyline students are happy about many things in their school, Junior Christopher Wilks raised some concerns. Wilks said the possibility of losing the trimester schedule is a large concern for many students. He said it offers many benefits including the ability to take more classes in a year than with a semester based schedule, longer class periods to create tighter bonds with teachers and classmates, and the opportunity to dual enroll at area colleges.

Junior Nadina Hassan told the Board of Education students are happy with the environment at Skyline that fosters growth. Hassan said the new restorative justice initiative has been successful in the past few months. “When a conflict arises in the school, we address it in a peaceful manner instead of using the traditional punishment approach. We hold circles with the people in the conflicts and talk to restore the balance,” she said.

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1 Comment

  1. Just reading the names of these outstanding students tells us something important about Skyline — something so normal for the students they didn’t even mention it. The diversity of cultures that work together daily with respect for each gives all of us hope that this next generation will create the peaceful world we all crave. Congratulations to all students at Skyline!

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