Have you ever heard of the nest, den, and herd system? At Lafayette it’s Herd, Jamestown it’s Nest and Warhill has Dens. Lafayette introduced the Herd system back in September of this school year. This is a 4 “herd” system, each student is assigned to a system based on their last name. Students compete for points for their herds and at the end each of the quarter which ever herd has the most points gets a reward. Students are supposed to earn points through good attendance and student engagement. Although this system may seem like a great idea, it doesn’t seem to be working as well as everyone had hoped. One of the downsides to the herds are that they don’t align with counselors, at Jamestown they have 5 herds so the align. This means students get confused on which herd and counselor they have. This also means the herds are separated unevenly. Another reason that the herd systems are not working well is that it is very confusing with the Rambassdor colors which are very known while herds are not. Students are also unaware of how the herds work, how to earn points, this makes it hard for the herds to work right.
I think there are several different ways we can make the herds a bigger and better part of our school. To start off align it with the counselors, rambassdors and freshman orientation. If we align them all together it will make it less confusing, and easier to plan activities. I also think we need to put the herds out there more and inform students on how to earn points, upcoming events, and what they receive if their herd wins at the end of the quarter. Overall, the herd system is a great idea but needs to be executed correctly.
