On April 4, 2026, the Farmington High School Class of 2027 Student Council hosted junior prom at the Aquaturf in Southington, CT. Behind the scenes, the eight student members and two adult advisors put in hours of dedication and meticulous planning to make sure everything went to plan.
All of the fundraisers that the student council holds, starting from freshman year, are held with the intention of raising money for events like prom and homecoming. Each member of the council plays a separate role in making these events happen. These roles include: president, vice president, treasurer, secretary, and four delegates–one from each class. While President Daria Lee and Vice President Luke McCormick are mainly responsible for directing the rest of the council, all members have responsibilities. Some of these include managing money, taking notes at meetings, running the social media page, reaching out for partnerships, and the list goes on.
The advisors also play a large role in the effectiveness of the council. The class of 2027 student council advisors are Wellness 9 and 11 teacher, Brittni Upchurch, and school counselor, Erin Severns, who have and will continue to play this role throughout the class’s 4 years of high school.
“Many times, an advisor assists our students with navigating the ins and outs of fundraising and all of the ways we navigate adhering to school and district policies,” described Upchurch.
The senior council members also helped to guide the junior council with their prom efforts. Senior Class President, Victoria (Tori) Melzen, and Executive Council President, Briella (Brie) Rich, collaborated with the juniors to provide them with model resources and instructions. Commonly, younger councils receive guidance from older councils, as many details are hard to understand without somebody to walk them through the process.
“Both Tori and Brie were extremely helpful by giving us advice and modeling how to run a prom,” stated class of 2027 Student Council president, Daria Lee.
Some past student council fundraisers have included bake sales, badminton tournaments, and concession sales at football games. A recent charity fundraiser that took place in the FHS gym was the K-12 Faculty Basketball game, where students and families from all schools in the district attended to watch their teachers and staff members play against each other at a central location in the town. Tickets were sold from 2/25-3/6 during lunch waves at every school in Farmington by student council members at the high school and teachers in the elementary and middle schools.
“Student Council members step up in many ways so that all events can be enjoyed by everyone,” stated Upchurch.
Although attending and donating to fundraisers is the most common way that the student body supports the council, there are a variety of other methods as well. This could look like providing honest feedback to a member of the council, helping out with restaurant fundraisers if they have a connection with staff, spreading the word about fundraisers to their friends and family outside of FHS, and many more. If you are a student who is interested in helping out, the members of the student council are always open to talking and getting more people involved.
Another fundraiser the 2027 council held in March was a badminton tournament, where FHS students from all grades had the chance to compete in a singles or doubles tournament for $5 (singles) or $10 (doubles). The fundraiser had a good turnout, with over 10 teams in each tournament and a competitive final round in both brackets. Not only are fundraisers like this a fun chance for students to stay active and compete against their peers, but they’re also the best way for the student body to support the council and raise funds for the most attended (and usually most expensive) events, especially during junior and senior year.
“The Student Body organizes the prom in its entirety. As Student Council, our fundraising efforts go directly into the funding of prom,” stated Lee.
In regards to prom, planning starts very early to make sure that everything is paid for and arranged on time. In fact, the date for junior prom is chosen as far as two years in advance in order to reserve the venue for that date. Once the date is about a month or two out, the council starts releasing details and deadlines to the student body, such as ticket-selling dates, guest forms, and costs. Communication with the venue is also a crucial part of planning, as certain things need to be discussed and shared.
“It comes as no surprise that the venue needs to know major details of the event from who will be chaperoning and their jobs to who will be attending, what meals everyone will be eating, tables they will be sitting at, etc,” stated Upchurch.
With the council holding meetings every week on Tuesday mornings at 7AM to discuss updates and what still needs to be addressed in planning, the students make sure to stay organized while devoting their time to making sure everything is set to make the day of prom a great experience for all those who attend. During these sessions, the class secretary takes notes and updates a shared calendar that can be accessed by all members and advisors.
With each member of the student council playing a different role but working together in harmony, events such as prom are able to take place smoothly and provide a positive memory for their peers to look back on in the future.
As Ms. Upchurch said, “An evening enjoyed by so many students is possible due to the hard work of their peers in Student Council”.
