There are many clubs at Highlands High School, but there has never been a club like this. A group of Highlands seniors wanted to change that, so they gathered to bring a new club to Highlands High School.
Their plan to get their peers together was about to take off. The Wallace family had the idea to bring First Priority to Highlands first. Their two sons are seniors at our high school. They were very excited to know that their idea had been passed, and they were ready to start leading and getting people involved.
First Priority is a club with multiple missions. Its idea is to bring our community together and to bring passion, hope, and joy to the students at Highlands. This club is for everyone to enjoy and learn more about faith.
“As soon as I mentioned it to my peers, they were so ready and enthusiastic to get it started,” Adam Wallace (12) said.
Before the group of seniors started their mission, they had to run everything past Principal John Darnell. The seniors worked very hard to get their points across so that they could bring the club to the school. With the many points and information they brought to Darnell, he was quick to give them a chance.
“The initial reaction is why do we need it, and what is it going to do, what hole does it fill, more so than that, how are you going to include anybody that wants to participate?” Darnell said.
The seniors had to figure out how they would bring this club to the students in a way that made it sound like it was for everyone. They wanted to make sure everyone felt included. The group invited everyone to join, and they put posters in the hallway for everyone to see.
“What we do is we approve a year, that’s a probationary period, to make sure that it’s functioning correctly, and that all students can be included, and then after that we’ll approve it more permanently,” Darnell said.
The seniors have one year to prove that the club is worthy of staying at Highlands High School. They planned to do this by making sure everyone feels comfortable, welcomed, and loved by the people in the room. The goal the seniors had for this club was not to shove Christianity in others’ faces, but to open a door for them to listen to what Christianity is all about.
“We try to emphasize that all are welcome to this club, despite any religious or cultural beliefs. We want to unite everyone,” Wallace said.