UTICA — The Utica City Schools Board of Education once again welcomed several of its students’ groups to join them Dec. 13 at their regular monthly meeting.

That tradition was started Sept. 27 at their first meeting of the new school year. Board President Joseph Hobika Jr. explained he wanted to both introduce their audience to the district students and also to introduce the students to the workings of the school board.

The Christopher Columbus Elementary School Choir kicked off the meeting even before the public commentary portion began, both standing and seated on the stage facing the audience. Music teacher Krystal Larish directed them in the festive singalong of Christmas carols to share the spirit of the season.

The Roscoe Conkling Elementary School Green Team reported to the board they just started last year as an after school program dedicated to learning about and protecting the environment. They said they observe the three Rs of “reduce, reuse and recycle” with projects like collecting recyclable materials at the school.

They also went on a recent field trip to the recycling center, where they saw the process of reclaiming used goods. The youngsters are now competing in a plastic film collection challenge where they have already gathered 11.2 pounds of the recyclable material.

Profits made from the sales of their recyclables are then used for prizes and events promoting continued recycling.

Members of the John F. Kennedy Middle School Student Council joined the board right on stage to sit with them at their meeting table. The students said they have started promoting the Six Pillars of Character, including trust, responsibility, respect, fairness, caring and citizenship, to their peers at the school with positive results.

They presented a video they created — starring students themselves — that acted out both positive and negative traits of character. Their Assistant Principal William Smith applauded their efforts.

The Thomas R. Proctor High School Newspaper Club members said they meet on Mondays after school to create The Corridors newspaper. They told the board they love to go out to events, take pictures and then share the stories with their fellow students.

The Corridors newspaper is now available online so that is expected to bring them an even larger audience. It includes stories on events, teacher spotlights, poetry and plenty of photos. Board member Tennille Knoop said she met with the group recently and encouraged her fellow members and their audience to check the website and see the paper for themselves. Visit www.uticaschools.org/schools/proctor/index and click on the newspaper link.