Student Council Meeting Leader: Mr Smith
Inaugural Meeting – 2017.
Pupils Present: Kieran Reed, Brandon Hopwood, Jamie Jones, Mathew Duckling, Ellis Watson, Corey Briggs, Anthony McDougall-Douglas and Lee Curruthers.
Agenda:
1.) School uniform/ PE kit. 2.) Outdoor Education 3) Merit - Tuck shop 4.) Summer camp
5.) Physical changes around the school 6.) Rewards activities 7.) Any other business.
First and foremost, the learners were welcomed to their new roles as student council representatives, for Hollis Academy. They all appeared really happy to be selected and to become part of the discussed process. Following their initial bout of excitement, I informed them all that it was a privilege to be a representative and if they contributed effectively, they would see results and receive recognition for their efforts.
The group reflected on past work, performed by previous representatives and they were happy with the results they obtained. The fact that they were listened to, provided them with a sense of importance and unity, which motivated them significantly.
With this in mind, the students worked well collaboratively, to create a list of responses to the different topics on the agenda. The responses were as follows:
1.) School uniform/ PE kit.
The first topic on the agenda, was based around brainstorming ideas for the new Academy uniform. With regards to the implementation of the new uniform; the students were informed that shortly they will all receive a bundle of, three sweatshirts and a couple of plain white polo t-shirts too. They thought this was sufficient (Although blazers were mentioned) and so we moved onto the colours of the uniform. The representatives suggested many different colour options; although, a black jumper with a gold badge appeared to be their first choice.
The P.E. kits were also a topic up for debate; as the current kits are almost much non-existent and the few that remain are looking timeworn and have been significantly impaired through the years. Therefore, Mr Boyd and Mr Abbey decided to order new kits and they thought that it would be nice for the students to have their say, regarding the style, colour and design. The student representatives looked through the school catalogues for the different options available to them; after much deliberation, they all agreed that they would like the colours to be red and black and so it was decided this will be our future, Hollis Academy P.E. kit.
2.) Outdoor Education
The second point on the agenda, was the possibility of going out (1 day every 6 weeks) to conduct some work through outdoor education. The process would involve each tutor group to go with their Teacher/TA and a trained member of staff as well, to achieve an outdoor education experience - this would be in addition to what's on offer already. The opportunity really intrigued the students and as a result they had many in-depth conversations regarding possible activities and venues. The suggestions were as follows:
· Rock climbing / Go ape
· Roseberry Topping / Osmotherley to perform orienteering skills
· Cooking in the woods
· Camping
· Kingswood/ team building activities
· Additional types of team building activities that built confidence and trust
3) Merit - Tuck shop
It was mentioned to the students, that Westlands Academy, already have a tuck shop on their premises and we were looking to follow the same format at Hollis Academy as well. This would allow students to purchase items at break. As soon as I relayed this information, a student instantly said that he was going to bring loads of money in to spend. However, when I informed them that the tuck shop did not accept money, they looked very confused. I went on to explain that the tuck shop only accepted tokens that were earned through the merit system and good behaviour.
Following this news, their job was to come up with a name and design for the tokens and so they did. The favourite name was decided through a diplomatic group vote and it was ‘Triple H’s’ – which represented Happy Hungry Hollis’ and the ticket was later designed by the students (See end page).
4.) Summer camp
The prospect of a summer camp certainly had the representatives engaged; many of them stated that the summer holidays often left them and their peers bored, isolated and occasionally getting them into trouble. I informed them that this idea is in the infancy stages and that it would be something that would be definitely looked at, in the near future.
5.) Physical changes around the school
The council members felt that their time (Break/Lunch) was boring and the activities were inadequate. I personally think, this is a topic that needs to be addressed and it would be nice for the students to have their say, regarding the activities they would like to see taking place. This could also aid in reducing incidents during these times (Bearing in mind that there has been substantial damage caused around the premises). With this in mind, the students worked well collaboratively to create a list of options, they were as follows:
· Table Tennis to be set up at break in the pool room and latter part of the lunch break.
· Football to continue as usual.
· Basketball
· TV room (Screen protector) to avoid damage.
· ICT to continue as usual.
· Common room (With music).
· Playground with swings/slide and climbing frame
6.) Rewards activities
Additionally, the students thought that the reward activities, were in need of modification and they suggested the following:
· Street Dance
· Bikes
· Visits to local parks
· Consoles to play on (More than one)
7.) Any other business.
Finally, the students were asked if there were any other topics they would like to discuss. Two main topics arose:
· School dinners – They feel that the dinners are unhealthy, poor quality, lack variety and need amending.
· Teacher involvement – They really enjoyed the efforts of the staff who embraced the ‘Roald Dahl Day’ and they would love to see this during other significant events too. They suggested that having competitions between tutor groups would be good for morale and they would like to see these at times such as Halloween and Christmas.
Staff ideas/suggestions are always welcome and important to improving school life as well; therefore, if you have any, please forward them to me.
Kind regards, Mr L Smith