VALUES: Student representatives meet to discuss changing Poly’s PRIDE acronym.
By Cameron Brewer, Staff Editor
Six years ago, with the help of student input, Poly’s administration created the five basic Poly High School ideals: Passion, Respect, Integrity, Determination, and Extraordinary (PRIDE). This acronym was prominently displayed above the gym, serving as a reminder of the school’s core values. However, after six years, the acronym may change.
The PRIDE acronym was initially drafted when Principal Dr. Michael Roe and Assistant Principal James Vaughan began working at Poly. With the assistance of a select few from the student body, the acronym was created based on what was felt to be important values for the time. “Starting to think about that, all those students have now since graduated. Not to say that it shouldn’t be something you keep for a long time, but it is good to revisit it to see if it still applies to the students,” Vaughan explained. The administration feels that the core values should pertain to the current students, instead of holding to ideals held six years ago. However, this does not mean that the current acronym does not apply to the students of Poly now. In fact, much of the acronym may remain unchanged. “There might be a change in the ‘E’ […] I think ‘exemplary’ was one they were looking to change. That is something we want the students to make the decision on,” Vaughan said.
As was done before, the PRIDE acronym will be up to students to decide what changes, if any, will be made. Meetings with student representatives took place early in February in order to begin discussing what values will be inputted. “Using this input, a small group of ASB, PCL and Link Leaders will work to assess how to change our acronym if necessary,” Activities Director Vanessa Douty described. Once agreed upon, the change to PRIDE will be implemented at the beginning of next year. Although a new acronym may vary from what students are used to, it would simply reflect a new way to show our Poly PRIDE, and to support our school.