Students Now

Teen HEART (Health Education Affirming Responsible Teens) is a peer education program where high school juniors and seniors educate middle school kids about abstaining from unhealthy behaviors. The student leaders teach them how to say no to peer pressure and discuss with them the warning signs in a relationship. We also talk about drugs, alcohol and tobacco and what their consequences are.  The most important detail we talk about is sexual abstinence until marriage.
   
This 2007–2008 school year there are currently 94 student leaders participating in this program.  Gull Lake isn’t the only school that participates in Teen HEART. Portage Central, Portage Northern, Hackett, Lakeview, Pennfield, Schoolcraft, Kalamazoo Christian, Vicksburg and others also take part in equipping younger minds with the knowledge and skills to live healthy, productive lives.
   
The rewards of this program simply cannot be explained. When you go into a classroom filled with 12- year-old kids and know that they look up to you, it is such a good feeling. After the last session is finished, the students are given an evaluation sheet about the program. They leave comments on what they liked or disliked about the program, and most of these comments are positive. The possibility of saving at least one life when I leave that class is the most amazing feeling. If all 94 people save at least one life, then maybe in the future, no matter how far, the world might be a better place.


Big Brothers Big Sisters, A Community of Caring
Richland Area Community
Big Brothers Big Sisters, A Community of Caring service area is Allegan, Barry, Calhoun, Kalamazoo, and Van Buren counties. The school-based mentoring program in the Richland community serves Richland Elementary and Ryan Middle School students. The students are provided with a mentor to do fun and academic activities.

There are 16 volunteers who meet with a child at the Richland Elementary School or Ryan Middle School.

The volunteers working with the students in the Richland schools are mostly from Gull Lake High School. They go to the Elementary or Middle Schools to meet with the student weekly. They play games, talk, or work on academics. Most of the volunteers go right after school to meet the student, and some volunteers go during the school day.

There is positive one-on-one interaction between the volunteer and the student. At the 6-month mark, BBBS conducts an evaluation to determine the success of the relationship. The evaluation is done with both the teacher and the volunteer.

A BBBS Match Support Specialist coordinates with the social workers, volunteers, and teachers to make sure there is positive progression coming out of the relationship between the volunteer and the student.


Gull Lake High School’s 2007-2008 Student Senate was excited to hold their first meeting in the brand new high school.  Air conditioning made the classroom comfortable as President Adam Simon conducted business.  Homecoming was a big success and everyone was glad to see the home team win.  Upcoming on Senate’s agenda is the annual fall Red Cross Blood Drive and the March of Dimes Breadlift.  The Breadlift will be held November 17 and will raise money to help towards research and care of premature babies.  Although the new school was a great blessing there were a few problems that had to be addressed such as the traffic overflow at the end of the day. 

Senate, like any other Gull Lake student, enjoys the new high school building.  With wider hallways and larger classrooms, the learning environment is much improved.  Senate looks forward to a productive school year in the wonderful new facilities. 
 
 
P.L.A.Y. (Preparing Lively Active Youth) is an exciting new opportunity for our 6th – 8th graders. Fifty students at a time will be transported to Sherman Lake YMCA (SLYMCA) to use their fitness center, pool, grounds, and gym.

This is possible through a grant from Kellogg to the Y. Many of our students indicated last year in a student survey that the lack of opportunities to gather in healthy settings was a drawback to their overall wellness. While our rural setting is beautiful in many ways, it is also more difficult because of our lack of resources and distance required for travel. We will alternate 6th grade with 7th/8th grades so the 6th graders will be segregated from the older students.

We are looking for donations of healthy snacks to provide our students while they are at the fitness center. If your student is extremely hungry after school, please send them with an extra snack and water bottles. Drinking fountains are available at the Y.

A signed permission slip will be required for every visit. Please note that we will need to alternate some 700 students among 25 weeks in groups of 50.  Depending on the interest level, your student will only visit 1-2 times during the
course of the year.