ColumbiaHigh School Student Council Handbook

2015-2016

Revised 8-9-15

What is STUCO?

STUCO, or Student Council, at ColumbiaHigh School, is a group of about 90-130 students who work together to provide activities to improve the communities of ColumbiaHigh School, the city of Columbia, Illinois. It is their job to aid in whatever ways possible to better the school for everyone. These students set the attitude for the school and take part in many of the behind the scenes activities or functions that occur at ColumbiaHigh School. Some of these may include: Homecoming Spirit Week, Powder Puff Football, Canned Food Drives, City of Columbia Recycling Event, Holiday Spirit Week, Project Hope Angel Tree, Winter Trivia, Valentine’s Day Activities, March Madness 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament,Shamrock Sales, Columbia’s Got Talent, Spring Field Day, Movie on the Turf, etc. We also encourage participation and attendance at leadership workshops on all levels; local, district and state.

How do I join Student Council?

There are a couple of ways to become a part of STUCO at ColumbiaHigh School. If you have proven to be a leader in your class, you can become an elected Class Officer – President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Class Public Relations Chairperson, and Historian. If you would prefer not being a class officer, you may be elected as a class representative. There are a total of 8 elected positions per class; 6 class officers and 2 class representatives. In order to be placed on the spring ballot, you must complete a petition and have teachers and your parents approve it supporting that you have demonstrated leadership qualities. Once your petition has been turned in meeting all deadlines and is approved by administration, the advisors, and the Election (Credentials) Committee, you will be placed on the ballot for elections which are held the 3rd week of April. Elections will be held by ballots and counted by the Student Council Advisors.

After you have served on student council for a minimum of 2 years or have proven to be an exemplary leader, you may be appointed by the advisors to the Executive Board as a junior or senior. In order to be appointed you must complete a petition and go through and interview process with the advisors and current Executive Board members demonstrating your knowledge and your commitment to student council. Please refer to the Executive Board Appointments for further information.

The third way you may become a member is for you to be appointed as a member-at-large. In order to be appointed you must complete a petition getting approval from teachers and your parents. Your petition MUST be completed and turned in on time. This is done ONLY in the spring after all elections have taken place.

Freshmen elections will take place in the fall after school has begun with all other elections occurring in the spring. Petitions are due the first week of school with elections taking place the second week. Freshmen member-at-large positions will also be appointed throughout the first month of the school year. This process is the same as the member-at-large positions appointed in the spring. No appointments will take place after September 1st.

How do I Stay an Active Member of Student Council?

  1. You must maintain 15 activity points per quarter minimum.
  2. You must complete an Activity Point Request form within 2 weeks of the activity in order to get credit and earn points for participating in that activity. The ONLY time you do NOT need to complete this form is for the monthly Student Senate meetings or unless designated by the advisors. You may find these by the student council bulletin board or may find them in Mrs. McKee’s or Mrs. Pickett’s classrooms. Late forms will NOT be accepted.
  3. You must attend all meetings – if you have 3 unexcused absences you will be automatically removed from the roster.
  4. If you miss a meeting, you must complete an Absent Approval Form within 1 week and submit it to the advisors

b.You must pick up the meeting agenda and read a copy of the minutes found on the Student Council website within 1 week of the meeting in order to earn you point for attending the meeting.

3. You must volunteer for at least one evening to help with concessions at a girls volleyball or basketball game or scholar bowl match

4. You must participate in the Student Council fundraisers.

5. Pay the annual dues of $10 by the second Friday in September

6. Attend, participate, and support student council events

7. You must follow all guidelines as stated in the CHS Student Council Constitution and By-Laws approved at our annual planning meeting. (Please refer to your copy for all details)

Who are the Advisors?

Mrs. Amanda McKee and Mrs. Linda Pickett are the ColumbiaHigh School advisors. Mrs. McKee has been the co-advisor for the past 5 years at CHS and was involved in student council all 4 years serving as the Executive Board Vice President when she was in high school. Mrs.Picketthas advised at ColumbiaHigh School for 13 years. She was on student council while she was in high school. Mrs. Pickett has served on the board and received many awards through the Illinois Association of Student Councils. During the summer of 2015 she was named the National Association of Student Councils Advisor of the Year! If you have any questions about anything pertaining to Student Council, they would be the best people to contact. These advisors help with all aspects of STUCO.

What is the difference between local, district and state levels?

Local – The local level of student council would be all activities that take place at ColumbiaHigh School and within the city of Columbia, Illinois. This pertains to all the things your council does at our high school or in the surrounding community. The local level for our school meets once a month during the school year as an entire Senate. We hold meetings the first Thursday of the month during advisory in the Cafeteria. All student council members are expected to attend every meeting. If not, you must notify one of the advisors or a member of the Executive Board and read the minutes that will be posted on the STUCO Website within one week of the meeting in order to earn points for the meeting. Having 3 unexcused absences from STUCO will earn automatic dismissal from our organization. To maintain your membership, you must pay $10 membership dues; earn a minimum of 15 points per quarter and complete all requirements for fundraising and working concessions. It is your responsibility to complete the Activity Point Request form within 2 weeks from the event in order for your 15 points to be counted per quarter. Late Point Request forms will not be accepted!

Please refer to the CHS Student Council Constitution and By-Laws and page 1 of this Handbook for details.

District – We are in the Kaskaskia District of Student Councils (KDSC). The entire district has the opportunity to meet for a fall workshop, a leadership workshop in January and then a spring convention hosted by one of our district schools. All of these events occur during the school day and a registration fee is required to attend. Members of our student council can run for a district office at the Spring Convention. You may also be a presenter at the District Convention as a Small Group Discussion Leader where you would present an idea from CHS and share it with peers from the district. If you are interested in running for a position, would like to be a Discussion Group Leader (DGL) or have any further questions, please talk to Mrs. Pickett or Mrs. McKee. HOSPITALITY NIGHT is a fun evening of activities planned by a member school district. It is usually held at the beginning of November that allows you to socialize with other students within our district in a fun way.

State – The Illinois Association of Student Councils (IASC) is our state organization. This convention meets in May every year and alternates between being hosted in Springfield or the Chicago area. The IASC Executive Board meets as often as needed. You must apply for a position in order to attend the State Convention. In the past, we have been named an IASC Honor Council with our Historian tracking our events on an annual basis and submitting an Honor Book for approval. Other positions would be Hall of Ideas (submit a successful idea you have had for other STUCO members to review), Credentials Committee, Honor Council Committee, Small Group Discussion Leader, and other positions. Please contact one of the advisors if you have questions about any of these positions. You must submit your application for these positions by the end of October and are expected to meet all guidelines in order to be accepted.

When are Executive Board Appointments?

The Executive Board appointments take place at the end of March. You must have been involved in student council for the past 2 years or have demonstrated exemplary leadership in order to be considered for the Executive Board. These positions are appointed due to the importance of needing strong leaders who have demonstrated commitment, dedication, strong character and leadership skills throughout their past years on Student Council in this position. The level of participation throughout their past years must demonstrate that they have maintained above theminimum of 15 participation points; has served as a committee chairman; has actively participated in leadership workshops and has met all requirements mandated to the full senate members. They must complete a petition for Executive Board members, have approval from administration and parents, and go through an interview process with the advisors and the current Executive Board members. These appointments will take place before the general elections held in April. The changeover will take place after the State Convention.

We have Summer Meetings?

Summer meetings are extremely important as we begin to organize Homecoming events and start the year off with a plan. In the past, we have been involved in Freshmen E.A.G.L.E Leader Day so meeting in the summer assists us in preparing for our first few meetings. We traditionally hold our annual planning meeting the weekend before school starts. This meeting is mandatory and lasts for several hours so we can plan our first semester of school and tentatively plan for the second semester. We focus on the goals of our organization and discuss what we want to accomplish this year as a Council. We alsocomplete our Homecoming plans. This is the time that many students volunteer for Committee Chair positions for the school year. It’s important that we get together just to have fun and celebrate our accomplishments! Please come prepared with new ideas that you would like to see STUCO implement for the new school year!

What are Standing Committees?

Most everyone on student council should be involved in a committee of some kind. Our standing committees work together throughout the school year to maintain the tasks for each group. There is a chairperson or possibly co-chairpersons leading each of these. They are in charge of following through with the duties of the committee. The list of committees may be but are not limited to the following:

1. Election/Credentials Committee –Executive Board President serves as this committee chairman and all Class Presidents are on the committee. This committee oversees all elections that take place throughout the school year. You will publicize the elections; prepare petitions and ballots; approve the petitions to make sure they were completed correctly and met all deadlines; recruit students to serve as election judges; get lists of students that are able to vote from the guidance secretary; set up elections; coordinating all activities and details to run a smooth election process. Your committee meets at least three times a year to plan all details involved in these elections (April elections; August Freshmen elections).

2. Constitution and By-Laws Committee - The Executive Board President serves as this committee chair and all Class Presidents and Vice-Presidents serve as committee members. This committee meets at the end of the school year or over the summer to review our current constitution and by-laws. The group will decide whether the constitution will remain the same or whether revisions need to be made and will make recommendations to the full Senate to be voted upon at one of our summer planning meetings.

3. Students Helping Others Committee - Volunteers will serve as this committee chair. You will meet with this group to decide what activities you would like to do to help others within our school, and the community. Some ideas done in the past: Welcome new students; Banner lockers to welcome Freshmen; play BINGO with a local nursing home, etc. Your ideas are welcome!

4. Vending Machine Committee - Volunteers will serve as this committee chair. You will meet to plan the details of running the vending machine. Who and how to purchase items; how often to purchase items; who will fill the machines and how often; count money on a weekly basis and make deposits; and make a spread sheet to see how much revenue is produced on a monthly basis. You will also need to place the orders to be picked up on a regular basis – FAX and Pull Form.

5. Publicity Committee – Public Relations Chairperson from the Executive Board will serve as chair and all Class Public Relations Chairpersons will make up this committee. Your committee will publicize all events that take place throughout the school year. You will use all sources of media available to us. You will contact local newspapers of upcoming events; write articles for the high school newsletter; make fliers and posters to advertise well in advance; use announcements as a form of communication with students; work closely with students who are Facebook administrators for student council;and keep the StuCo website up to date with all events. Your creative ideas are welcomed on how to best publicize all of our events.

6. Service Project Committee - Executive Board Vice-President serves as this committee chair and all Class Vice-Presidents as well as volunteers will serve on this committee. This committee will oversee all service projects student council is involved in throughout the school year. You will meet and choose which organizations we will service using funds from hat days in both Homecoming and Holiday Spirit Weeks; Angel Tree for Project Hope, etc. This group will coordinate all details involved for service project collections.

7. School Improvement Committee – Two students are selected and must attend the School Improvement Committee meeting once a month. This committee is made up of parents, staff, teachers and principals. They discuss different ways we can improve our school and prepare a written plan to be implemented at CHS. You would represent the student body if you serve on this committee.

8. Concessions Committee– A volunteer will serve as committee chair for concessions. You will meet to discuss the schedule for girl’s volleyball and basketball games in which you are providing concessions. You will decide what items need to be bought to sell; count money; make deposits and inform the advisors when supplies need to be purchased. You will also be responsible for finding workers for all volleyball and basketball games. You must also notify all workers EAGLE notes reminding them when they work.

9. Recycling Committee – A volunteer will serve as committee chair for Recycling. You will make sure every teacher has a recycle bin and a sign posted on it stating what can be recycled. Notify teachers that they will choose students from their advisory period to only recycle their classroom bin as needed. You will make sure the plastic bottle recycling bins are cleaned out when full and taken to the advisors classroom. This committee will also organize the spring City of Columbia Recycling Event held at ColumbiaHigh School. You will be in charge of finding workers and making sure they have their waivers signed and all positions are filled. You will also be able to develop more ideas of items to be recycled at our school such as ink cartridges, cell phones, etc.

10. Special Olympics Committee – A volunteer will serve as committee chair for Special Olympics. You will be responsible for working closely with the special education teachers throughout the school year in order to assist and provide help with the needs of the Special Olympics athletes. You may plan an annual event for this group and volunteer in Mrs. Gunn’s classroom. This will also include organizing fundraisers, sell t-shirts, and encourage students to participate in the 5K Run/Walk in Forest Park to raise money for Autism Awareness.