At EMS, Everyone Works on Tiger Pride

Last Friday was a special day at EMS. The school hosted a guest speaker to help students and staff understand that being a Tiger and having school spirit is something to be proud of and shouldn’t be taken for granted.

Making every day a better day is the name of the game at EMS and the school community works hard to show Tiger Pride. To encourage this behavior, the school ASB suggested James Layman, Director of the Association of Washington Student Leaders (AWSL) visit EMS and talk to the student body about leadership and the choices students can make to develop their leadership skills. 

The decision to bring Layman was a “no-brainer” for the ASB. They met him at a leadership camp in Spokane Valley during the fall and immediately made a connection. Students were involved in nearly all aspects of planning the day, creating welcome materials for Layman, working on and presenting introductions at the beginning of the assembly and encouraging strong student participation.

"James came into our hearts with pride,” said EMS student, Christian Tackett. “He helped Ephrata Middle School to become whole by doing fun activities to make us happy and he filled us up with pride. James was a kind person who even let a student come down to the front of the entire school and perform for them. It made everyone happy to see that kid enjoy himself with James."

“This was an amazing experience,” said Kayla Tucker, ASB Advisor, Leadership Team Co-Teacher and EMS Librarian. “James connected with students like nobody we’ve seen at EMS before. He kept everyone entertained and hooked from the start to the end of his presentation. We learned a tremendous amount about ourselves during this event.”

Tucker joined forces with Tina Mullings, EMS Dean of Students, ASB Advisor & Leadership Team Co-Teacher, and Brian Forster, Art Teacher and Leadership Team Co-Teacher, to guide students through event planning and make the logistics of the day come together. It was the first event for the EMS Leadership Class, which is made up of students in school groups including ASB, La Chispa, Honor Society and Hope Squad. The Leadership Team works together to guide school leadership decisions.

EMS Student, Kaylynn Rolly summed up the day of learning best when she said, “James taught us that EVERYONE can be enough." 

The assembly and day with Layman was funded by a fundraiser spearheaded by EMS staff member, Denver Morford. Morford coordinated sales of Cougar Gold Cheese to collect money for the event.

 

The EMS Leadership Team with James Layman and Denver Morford

 The EMS student body poses for pictures during the assembly with James Layman

James Layman, Director of the Association of Washington Student Leaders