Students Showcase Leadership Skills at Winchester Elementary in West Seneca | Community Spirit

Student leaders at Winchester Elementary School hosted their third annual Leadership Day Tuesday, March 27.

Leadership Day is a student-led experience, highlighting the work done by the children, including what each of the “7 Habits” means to them as they navigate their way through school and home life.

This year, Joshua Covey, youngest son of Stephen Covey (author of the “7 Habits of Highly Effective People”) participated in Leadership Day and delivered the keynote address.

Winchester, one of seven elementary schools in the West Seneca District, is a Leader in Me school, and a Lighthouse model school for the program. Students, teachers and staff follow the principles set forth from Stephen Covey’s “7 Habits for Highly Effective People.” Students are learning and practicing leadership skills on a daily basis.

In addition to the keynote by Joshua Covey, students performed music, led tours, hosted an assembly and engaged in classroom presentations during Leadership Day. Students showed how their lives have been impacted by the leadership skills.

On a broader scale, guests also learned how student discipline issues have decreased and academic achievement has improved since Winchester implemented the Leader in Me three years ago.

Winchester also presented plaques of gratitude to Joshua Covey, Franklin Covey representatives Meg Thompson and Christina McGuey; and the West Seneca Rotary Club for their support of the program.

Audience members also enjoyed playing a "name the habit" game before visiting classrooms and breaking for lunch.

Lunch was followed by a question and answer period led by students, teachers, parents and community leaders. Many educators from area schools and colleges had questions about how they could effectively implement the 7 Habits.