With fond memories of Spirit Week fresh in Paly students’ minds, the Associated Student Body (ASB) is hard at work reflecting on the week while also planning new and traditional interactive events for the new quarter.

“We are currently looking back on Spirit Week and brainstorming ways to make next year more inclusive and fun for all students,” junior Class President Zoe Silver said.

This year’s student participation in activities during the spirit rallies was remarkable and inspiring, according to Student Activities Director Matthew Hall.

As well as thinking of new events and activities for the following Spirit Week, members of the student body have been preparing for the fall season.

“ASB has a lot of things in the works for November,” ASB Vice President Benjamin Rapperport said. “We are getting ready for a ping pong tournament, the Turkey Trot, Teacher Appreciation Week and a lot more events we are super excited for that are fall-related.”

Along with the Turkey Trot, more events involving food on the quad are in store for the upcoming months.

“We decided to make our Cookies on the Quad event a monthly occurrence after receiving so many positive responses from students and staff.”

Board Representative Caroline Furrier

In light of receiving feedback from the Paly community regarding the influence of the students in the district, ASB is planning to host a public consultation in the near future to address certain issues with the city and obtain the public’s opinions. 

“ASB will be hosting a discussion to gather feedback from members of the community in hopes to educate our citizens on what we do in ASB and how we can improve our impact as the student body of Palo Alto High School,” Site Council Representative Ben Gordon said. 

Additionally, ASB is working towards combating the recent outbreak of teenage vaping in the area.

“[We are] planning to host a campaign against vaping in our school and spread knowledge about this epidemic to our community,” Furrier said. “Hopefully, we will work together in finding ways to repel this growing trend in our school district.” 

Paly administration has already begun addressing the vaping issue by locking certain bathrooms in order to concentrate the population of vapers. It was also an attempt to eradicate the fire alarm issue. 

“We are looking to educate the public on the negative effects of vaping and to find a solution,” Furrier said.