SHS Student Council recognized by national board

SAUGUS – The Saugus High School Student Council has been making a name for itself with its school events like the talent show and Mr. Saugus High, but last week the council was recognized on a national level after being awarded the National Council of Excellence award from the National Association of Student Councils.?We?re the only one in the state to get it,” said faculty advisor Jane Osgood. “Going to the national conference with my president certainly inspired us. And thanks to Ryan (Perry) and everyone else we met the criteria. It?s a pretty awesome thing.”Perry, a junior, was instrumental in putting together the Student Council?s “excellence book,” a thick binder containing more than 50 “indicators,” or categories for which the council is evaluated, including communications, civic-based activities, council-sponsored events, its constitution, meeting agendas, budget reports and membership guidelines.?It?s basically a history of what we do,” said Perry. “In the state book there are 30 indicators, but in the national book there were 56 indicators. They were completely different. I think there were three indicators that were the same for the (Massachusetts Association of Student Council?s) book.”Perry said he almost cried when he found out about the award because he had been working on the book since the beginning of the year, including one day when he worked on it until 4 a.m.Courtney Sanchez, the Student Council Secretary, described the Student Council as the “leaders” of the school.?We try to promote school spirit and try to bring everyone together for as many events as possible,” said Sanchez. “With the conferences ? it?s really nice to get that leadership experience to bring back here. That?s why the national award is so huge. We do things for the school community and for the teachers. We try to promote the community aspect of school as much as possible.”Olivia Pettenati, who is also the vice president, said she joined the student council because it seemed like a lot of fun.?I like meeting people and listening to the speakers at the conferences,” said Pettenati. “(The award) was a pretty big deal. It?s nice to be recognized.”The Student Council was also awarded with the MASC gold award at the state conference in Hyannis last month. More than 1,400 students from 75 schools across Massachusetts attended where they took part in workshops, a formal dinner and had motivational speakers.Stephanie Gaglini is a member of the Executive Board, which helps fundraise and publicize school events. Last month marked her first MASC conference.?It was overwhelming because everyone is just so exciting,” said Gaglini. “It?s so much fun. There were so many people there and the motivational speakers were amazing.”But while the state conference is a regular event for the student council, attending the national conference in St. Louis was a rare treat, said Osgood.?It?s at a different place every year,” said Osgood. “Massachusetts takes about 20 delegates. We were lucky enough to have the Saugus Business Partnership support us financially. In my 18 years as an adviser we?ve never gone and no one from Saugus has ever gone because it costs so much. You can?t justify sending one student or one teacher, but they said they would find a way to make it happen.”Student Council president Olivia Singer went to the national conference with Osgood and said the award is even sweeter since she?ll be graduating and leaving the Student Council on a high note.?It was awesome,” said Singer. “There was a lot of inspirational speakers and I got to meet kids from all over the country that I still talk to today. It?s something that?s never been done before. It?s a really big deal because our school has never been recognized nationally or the Student Council. I don?t even know if any Student Councils in the state have been recognized nationally.The Student Council is involved with several community service events throughout the year and helps at the local food pant