Sandalwood High Students of the Week

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- One teacher has so many hard working, great students she couldn't pick just one to be our Student of the Week. We went to Sandalwood High School to find out what makes the 85 students with Leadership Council so special.

Instead of being inside the classroom, the students with Leadership Council were outside working hard in the dirt in front of the school. They were digging, shoveling and making a difference.

They were doing some landscaping to help make their school look better. "We decided to do this project to make Sandalwood more green. We're going to do plants and every year we'll do a legacy project to incorporate being green here at Sandalwood," said Student Activities Director Soraya Lakatos.

Lakatos has 85 students that are a part of the Leadership Council. It's a group she helped start two years ago. Each student has an average of 75 community hours a year. They have been very busy.

"They give up their afternoons and their Saturdays. They go out to businesses and try to get more people involved. What I've seen with them has been incredible and I am so proud of all my Sandalwood students," said Lakatos.

So far this year they raised $1,000 for mammogram testing for Jeannie Blaylock's Buddy Bucks. They conducted community cleanups at the beach and neighborhoods around Sandalwood. They've collected prom dresses for students who can't afford them and they mentor and tutor students.

We picked all 85 to be our Students of the Week.

When the landscaping at Sandalwood is finsihed they have two more projects to tackle; a movie night for the community and a blood drive.

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