BRIDGE OF DON ACADEMY
STUDENT COUNCIL MEETING – Thursday 27 September 2012
Minutes
Present: Jenna Shepherd, Lewis Chouman, Lizzie Simpson, Calum Neil, Holly Da
Silva, Eli Rorie, Liam Moore, Huda Affendi, Feranmi Thomas, Jack Gillies,
Scott Nichol, Darius Sahraie.
Mr Harland, Miss Ritchie, Mrs Anderson.
1. Apologies (from those who cannot attend)
Apologies received from Rheanne McIntosh
2. Welcome
Mr Harland welcomed all representatives present and congratulated all on achieving the trust of their fellow pupils. He expressed his hope that the council would achieve many things this session. Mr Harland also raised the issue of the behaviour of the reps. Council reps are representing their year group and as such are role models. It is therefore essential that no discipline issues arise. Should discipline letters be sent home, the rep will be asked to return their badge.
Title
Mr Harland asked the reps for their preferred title, “Student Council” or “Pupil Council”. It was decided that the title be “Student Council”.
3. Taking lunch to the meetings
Some reps raised the issue that as lunchtime begins at 1.05pm and meetings begin at 1.20pm this leaves only 15 minutes which enough time to buy lunch, but not to eat it. Mrs Anderson said that students should let the janitors know that they have been given permission to bring food into the teaching area (they can show their badge). Mr Harland said that cold food (such as sandwiches and fruit) can be brought to the meeting room but that hot food should be avoided for health and safety reasons.
4. The taking of minutes/chairing the meeting/preparing agendas/how often should we meet?
Mrs Anderson explained that today she would chair and minute the meeting. However, in future this task should be performed by the members. After discussion, it was agreed by the Head Team (Jenna, Lewis, Lizzie and Calum) that they would perform this task, but that if any pupil felt confident in taking this on in the future, this would be good.
For the next meeting (11th Oct) Agenda items should be given to Jenna.
We discussed using the school website to post future agendas and minutes and Mrs Anderson agreed to speak with Mrs Cruickshank (DHT) in order to create a specific area on the site. We also discussed the possibility of allowing pupils to post suggestions. This to be further investigated. Jack Gillies (S2) explained that he had created a new email account to enable pupils in his year group to send him details of issues they wished addressed. Mr Harland said that he could also post this on the student council area of the website (once this is created). It was suggested that a paper copy of the minutes and agenda be put on the notice board in the canteen to enable all pupils to be informed about the work of the Student Council. It was also suggested that we should publicize the link to the Student Council area on the website once this is up and running.
We discussed how many times we should meet. We are timetabled for monthly meetings, but Holly expressed the view that we should meet more frequently. Some suggested weekly, but Lewis and Jenna made the point that fortnightly would be better to enable the reps to write up the minutes, carry out the tasks agreed at the meeting and prepare an agenda for the next meeting. This was agreed by all.
Action – Mrs Anderson to liaise with Mrs Cruickshank.
Jenna to collate items for the next agenda
5. The Elections – how should they be run in future?
Mrs Anderson raised the point that for the past two years, she had decided how the elections should be run, but that this should be reviewed by the Student Council. Early on in the discussion, it was agreed that a whole meeting should be dedicated to this issue.
However the following points were discussed:
Whether or not to have speeches at Assemblies. Mrs Anderson suggested that next year speeches should be made in front of the whole year group, not just those who chose to attend at lunchtime. However, Huda felt that this was too much to ask of candidates, particularly S1s. It was suggested by Calum that that speeches could be made in front of a small group and filmed or just filmed. The video could then be put on the school website so that all pupils could view them.
Whether or not to restrict reps to certain number of year service. Jenna, Lewis, Lizzie, Calum, all made the point that to be truly democratic, elections should be open to all, regardless of how many times they had served on the Council. Liam made the point that by not allowing reps to be re-elected we might be depriving ourselves of the best person for the job. Darius agreed that it is the pupils’ decision who should be their reps and so the elections should be open to all.
S5 voting. Holly raised the point that not all S5’s had voted, unlike other year groups, as they were asked to vote during break, lunch or study. Mrs Anderson said that this had been her decision as she did not want to disrupt PSE (S5’s voted in PSE last year) and felt that S5’s should take responsibility themselves for making sure their voice was heard. A discussion followed and it was suggested that voting in registration might be the best way forward. This was not formally agreed, so we should return to this.
6. How do we maintain a high profile in the school?
Postponed until next meeting
7. Concerns that have come from pupils – which should we tackle first?
Postponed until next meeting
8. AOCB (Any other current business)
As there was urgent business to discuss, Mrs Anderson asked if we could jump to AOCB
· Duck Race
Lewis informed us about the forthcoming event to raise funds for the school. The Duck Race will take place in the Swimming Pool On Friday 5 October at lunchtime. £1 secures you a rubber duck which will be set off across the pool. The winner receives £50 and runners up will receive other prizes. Whilst Lewis emphasised that it was not expected the reps sell ducks, he asked if the reps could raise awareness of the event and perhaps raise enthusiasm - to ensure we get a good turnout.
Action – all reps– raise awareness
· Learning and Teaching Working Group meeting – re homework policy
Mrs Anderson explained that a number of working groups operate in the school where staff meet to discuss, plan and organise many things. One such group is the Learning and Teaching Group where staff discuss issues relating to the curriculum and its delivery in school. Mrs McWilliam (DHT) has invited all members of the Student Council to attend a meeting on Thursday 1st November after school (time and place to be confirmed). This is an important meeting involving staff, parents and pupils where the issue of homework will be discussed. Last year’s Student Council submitted proposals to SMT (Mr Harland, Mrs McWilliam, Miss Ritchie and Mrs Cruickshank) relating to the role of homework at Bridge of Don Academy. It was agreed that the Student Council would discuss this at a Student council meeting prior to the Learning and Teaching meeting in November.
Action – all reps – Write the date in your diary
· Aberdeen Youth Forum/Learning Partnership
The Student Council has been involved in both these groups and the issue of the Learning Partnership meeting was raised by the S6 reps. It was felt that the meetings were not appropriate for the Student Council as they were achieving very little. It was suggested that the Student Council members try to attend the meetings of the Youth Forum Group. Jasmine Kennedy and Scott Nichol (S2) have been involved with the Youth Forum which is making real progress and getting things done in the community. This will be raised at the next meeting again.
Scott (S2) informed us that the next Youth Forum meeting is at Braehead Primary on 1st October at 6.30pm (this coming Monday). It is hoped that as many Student Council reps as possible will attend.
Action – all reps – please attend the meeting on 1st Oct if you can
· Aberdeen Pupil Voice
Aberdeen City Council has launched a project called Aberdeen Pupil Voice. 3 pupils from the senior phase (S4 – S6) from each school are invited apply to be involved in the project. As yet Mrs Anderson has not received the application forms. As soon as she does, she will call a brief meeting of the S4 – S6 reps to explain the procedure and the project itself. There is a deadline of 11th October, so watch the website and listen to the bulletins for the “urgent meeting”.
Action – S4,5,6 reps – watch the website/bulletin for date of urgent meeting.
9. Thanks
Mr Harland thanked the reps for attending the meeting and Mrs Anderson thanked Liam for the snacks! Mrs A’s turn next time.
It was an excellent first meeting with lots discussed – exciting things to come......
Next official meeting: Thursday 11th October
Chair person: Jenna Shepherd (Head Girl)
Minutes: Lewis Chouman (Head Boy)