“I hope that every voice is heard in the sophomore body and I hope that we can represent everyone in every way that they want to be represented,” Eldana Abrhame, President of the Class of 2026 stated.
The class of 2026 is planning to raise $30,000 before their senior year to be able to “make the best prom possible for the class of ‘26,” explained, Mailee To, art director of the class of 2026. “30,000 was a rough estimate of a good price to rent out a prom venue and to try and make tickets as cheap as possible.”
The student council wants students to support and fund its peers, as the money that is being raised from these events is “going to their future experiences which is why it was important to get the budget Goalmometer out,” Rashmi KC, the vice president said.
“We were trying to set a budget goal by truly figuring out the costs that might go into it such as transportation, like a lot of the party buses, and renting out the venue,” she continued.
Not only will the money be going towards prom, but the student council also aims to lower the prices of graduation caps and gowns while also wanting to cover the costs of other senior events.
Treasurer Oscar Luc explained how $30,000 is something that the whole student council came up with as a whole, and took the budgeting idea from the classes prior, taking into account the quality of their prom. “It may seem like a lot, but I feel like we can definitely do it, hopefully, by our senior year.”
The student council has been planning frequent meetings and brainstorming events that will help them raise money and stay on track with their budget.
They have also been planning “community events for Malden as a whole; getting people in CO26’ to realize the money ultimately comes back to them,” Luc continued.
“Gearing towards their interests helps a lot with engaging students of all backgrounds. Take example for new menu items for our bake sale, savory foods. Brazilian bakery foods such sale, savory foods. Brazilian bakery foods such as coxinhas and brigadeiros, as well as churro balls, were super popular,” To said.
Even though their first few bake sales had gone well, to reach their goal of $30,000 the student council plans to steer away from bake sales and host fundraisers instead in hopes of making the events more engaging for students.
Luc explained, “Although our first bakesale was definitely a success, it seemed as if engagement diminished as time passed, likely due to the repetition of the same fundraising events. I look to make events that hold a focal point in socialization rather than the sole purpose of collecting money, to get more students willing to participate and enjoy themselves in the process.”
“There is a lot of repetition and lack of originality for a lot of the events such as bake sales,” To agreed, “We plan to incorporate culture and embrace the diversity of Malden to create popularity for our events.”
The student council hopes to reach as many students as possible to let them know about their future plans. “We have social media that we are hoping to post and get the word out about the events. We also have other things like Google Classroom, which is what we use to inform everyone about what’s happening in the future,” KC said.
One of the student council’s main goals is to, “form a community where we can bring in funding that will allow us to have fun. School can get very stressful at times, so it’s great to have such events along the way to be able to bring in our culture and who we are outside of school. My end goal is to make sure that we all end up having a good high school experience, as no one should feel as though they are left behind,” KC explained.
Many future events should help the students raise enough money to reach their goal of $30,000, such as game nights, sports events, and one of the biggest events happening next year, Junior Varieties. “With a surplus amount of money, we plan to have a really great Junior Varieties show next year," To said, “We plan to use the money we earn to buy supplies for bake sales, dance decorations, and other foods in order to create a larger profit.”
To expresses how involved she is with the planning and budgeting within the student council, as well as going out to purchase items to help out the council as much as she can. “I hope to just branch out my skills and hope everyone else can too. Being on the council has given me the experience to create events that make many students here happy and interested, which I think is something we need more of at Malden High.”
“We hope to make new, fun, and inclusive events that are able to integrate all students in a manner that makes their money’s worth!” Luc finished.
