At Student Government’s weekly morning meeting last Friday, members voted not to hold its annual Winter Carnival and to instead focus its efforts on improving student issues.

The Winter Carnival has been a Franklin High tradition since 2007, benefitting a different charity every year. The event was held in March in the field house and consisted of games for kids, bouncy houses, live music, and food. It was a popular way for FHS students to gain community service hours; in 2013 and 2014, proceeds from admissions have benefitted the Sandy Hook School Support Fund and the Lexi and Sean Munroe Memorial Fund, respectively.

Student Government was responsible for organizing and publicizing the event, which took about three months to plan. According to Student Government president Justin Bates, “[we] decided that, going forward, we were going to focus on student issues and improving school culture, and Winter Carnival did not fit our new mission.”

At the January 16th meeting, members discussed a change of direction for the club. Students used project room whiteboards to brainstorm possible areas of improvement, and popular ideas involved uniting the student body, increasing communication with administration, and augmenting Student Government’s presence in the school.

On January 21st, after the decision to end Winter Carnival, representatives divided themselves by grade and considered possible methods for improving school culture. The rest of the school year will be dedicated to enacting these plans.