NORWICH – The agenda at any given Norwich board of education meeting typically includes updates for the board, presentations which are usually given by faculty members, department chairs and administrators. Last night, however, it was a student leader who stood before the school board.

“This group has done a lot of good work this year, a lot of good work,” said Superintendent Gerard O’Sullivan, as he introduced Norwich High School’s Student Body President Michael McBride. The senior was accompanied by Student Government Advisor Rich Turnbull, and fellow student leaders Josh Favaloro, Frank Somich, Kyle Edwards, Darby Dietrich and David Layman.

Before McBride launched into his presentation, Turnbull explained the purpose of their visit.

“One of our big goals is to start communicating better,” he said, not only with students, faculty and administration within the school building, but also with other stakeholders such as the school board.

McBride’s presentation focused on Student Government’s accomplishments for the first half of the 2010-11 school year and goals for the rest of the year, but he began by explaining the objectives the student leadership group had outlined for itself before school started. These goals, which he clearly enumerated, are to start five initiatives which “actively engage” at least half of the student population; develop as many as five new ways of improving communication, “revamp” the role class representatives play in student government and improve the climate and culture at the high school.