![Sophomore Mary Kirtley holds her Dressember Foundation button. The buttons are passed down to the new STL Spark executive board members each year and they are encouraged to place them on their backpacks to help raise awareness about human trafficking. My sister, [Class of 2020 alumni] Grace Kirtley, started STL Spark when she was in high school and she would have people carry it on after she graduated, Mary said. Last year I got invited to join the board again with my sister, senior Patty Kirtley, and so weve been working on carrying her legacy a bit. Its become somewhat of a family project.](https://lancerfeed.press/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5696-e1700061260167-1200x800.jpg)
![During FACS Department Chair Becky Lawrences 5th Hour Baking and Pastries class on Nov. 17, juniors Jack Dolle and Armani Turner eat the pies they made during their previous class. Because they cant use the water in their classroom, they also cant run their dishwashers. So, Lawrence had her students use paper plates and plastic utensils. Luckily I had disposable things on hand for them to eat with, so they used that. And then, the pie plate and server I’m just going to throw in the other [classes] dishwashers in between classes and hopefully I can keep up on it, Lawrence said.](https://lancerfeed.press/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_0008-1200x800.jpg)
![After their State victory on Nov. 4, the volleyball team celebrates on the court. The team defeated Francis Howell in straight sets, 3-0. Everyone was out-of-this-world excited. [Winning back-to-back] was something that hasnt happened in awhile, Nelson said.](https://lancerfeed.press/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2023-State-championship-point-rushing-court-e1699295686646.jpg)
![Sophomore Mary Kirtley holds her Dressember Foundation button. The buttons are passed down to the new STL Spark executive board members each year and they are encouraged to place them on their backpacks to help raise awareness about human trafficking. My sister, [Class of 2020 alumni] Grace Kirtley, started STL Spark when she was in high school and she would have people carry it on after she graduated, Mary said. Last year I got invited to join the board again with my sister, senior Patty Kirtley, and so weve been working on carrying her legacy a bit. Its become somewhat of a family project.](https://lancerfeed.press/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5696-e1700061260167-300x200.jpg)
![During FACS Department Chair Becky Lawrences 5th Hour Baking and Pastries class on Nov. 17, juniors Jack Dolle and Armani Turner eat the pies they made during their previous class. Because they cant use the water in their classroom, they also cant run their dishwashers. So, Lawrence had her students use paper plates and plastic utensils. Luckily I had disposable things on hand for them to eat with, so they used that. And then, the pie plate and server I’m just going to throw in the other [classes] dishwashers in between classes and hopefully I can keep up on it, Lawrence said.](https://lancerfeed.press/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_0008-300x200.jpg)
![After their State victory on Nov. 4, the volleyball team celebrates on the court. The team defeated Francis Howell in straight sets, 3-0. Everyone was out-of-this-world excited. [Winning back-to-back] was something that hasnt happened in awhile, Nelson said.](https://lancerfeed.press/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/2023-State-championship-point-rushing-court-e1699295686646-300x200.jpg)
Lafayette’s Principal’s Advisory Committee is a new organization to boost student voice in school decisions. While LPAC has replaced grade level councils, the senior executive board will stay in place for the rest of this year. Assistant Principal Colleen Fields believes LPAC’s 13-member committee is an improvement from grade-level executive boards.
“[LPAC] helps the administrative team be more mindful about how we are guiding our students,” Fields said. “To me, it’s more holistic as opposed to [dividing up] into just sophomore or just junior [executive boards]. I like the idea of [LPAC] just being about our school and our community, not just our grade.”
A multitude of students applied for positions at LPAC, but only a select few were chosen.
“We had almost 80 people apply and we were blown away. It was really tough to [choose members] because we can only take three [per grade], we did let seniors have four.” Fields explained. “It was really tough because the people who took the time to fill the [application] out are really good and very thoughtful.”
Senior Josh Lanzotti was one of the few who were selected to join LPAC. Lanzotti applied because he felt a need to gain new skills.
“I want to do [LPAC] because I haven’t had like a lot of leadership opportunities in high school so far and I kind of wanted to fill in that hole, it’s a skill that I haven’t developed yet,” Lanzotti said.
While his first LPAC meeting, which took place Oct. 2, only consisted of introductions and not planning, Lanzotti is ready to make a difference.
“We are going to be talking about more of what stuff we’re gonna change about the school,” Lanzotti said.
