| SCHOOL COUNCIL |
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The School Council is made up of student representatives
voted in from each tutor group and advocates for those
groups who are unable to represent themselves. The School
Council take issues and suggestions from their groups
to the Council for discussion, and then make requests
and recommendations to the Chair, Mick Ellison who takes
their views to the Senior Management team.
The School Council is the student's most direct route
in having a say, an influence and a personal investment
in the school. It has proved to be a very positive experience
for the pupils and the staff with everyone taking a
keen interest in how it develops.
School Council News Term 3
UK Youth Parliament Election – Election News!
For the first time students at Fosse Way took part in the UK Youth Parliament elections.
We also had our own candidate, Amber Sims.
On the 29th January students across BANES had the chance to vote in a hotly fought election with 2O candidates standing.
The polling station came complete with an official ballot box, polling booths and election officer. All candidates had their manifestos displayed. Thomas Porter acted as publicity officer and Vote Amber posters appeared across the school. It was great to see so many students getting the chance to take part in a proper election. Several Upper school students spent time debating the merits of the various candidates. In total 93 Fosse Way students voted.
Amber election message was ‘Keep Children safe and let us travel cheaply!’ She attended the official count which was held that evening at the town hall. She got 275 votes in total with votes coming from a wide range of schools. Amber came tenth out of a field of twenty candidates. She would like to thank everyone who voted for her. Well done Amber!
School Council Meeting 23rd January 2009.
Use of MP3 players.
Mr Moon came to school council to discuss the student use of MP3 players in school. The current rule is that they can be used between home and school. Many students now bring them into school and it was thought that we need to change the rules. After a good discussion we agreed that MP3 players could be used at playtimes but not during lessons, between lessons or in bus lines.
Aiming High
Kay and Dee from Aiming High came to School Council to talk about their work. They want to find out what kind of activities students do out of school. They want to try and give more young people opportunities to do things outside of school. School Council members briefly talked about some of the activities they do and what they would like. School council agreed to work with them on this project.
Red Nose Day – Friday 13th March 2009.
WEAR SOMETHING FUNNY FOR MONEY! 
School council agreed to organise Red Nose Day this year. It will be run like the last Red Nose Day we had. Each class will organise a fund raising event. The RND website and fund raising packs have lots of ideas. We agreed to use assemblies to let the school know more. Classes will stay with their tutors on the afternoon and will meet in the dining hall for some fun events. Red Noses have been ordered and will be made available for sale as soon as they arrive.
As it will be a non uniform day we will be asking people to
WEAR SOMETHING FUNNY FOR MONEY!
Action.
Class tutors and school council reps need to hold class meetings to organise their event.
School Council will meet after the holiday to plan the day in more detail.
 At our previous meetings we said we wanted more non uniform days.
Action - School Council voted to organise a non uniform day to support the Friends of Bwindi Orphanage, which is a charity founded by Jo Simpson. The charity was set up by Jo after a visit to Uganda in 2007.
School Council will talk with Jo about putting on an assembly to tell people more about her work with the Orphanage and set a date for the non uniform day.
Also discussed
Trouble on the pitch!
The footballers are having more problems with lost balls since the relocation of the football pitch. Every time a ball is kicked out of school the match has to be stopped and the balls are often not returned and lost. There have been more calls for a net to go over the cage. This has been discussed at previous meetings and has been considered not practical. It was suggested that it would be good to take a spare ball out to allow the game to continue.
It might also be a good idea to organise a way to retrieve lost balls.
Action - Mick Ellison will talk to Mr Cainey and Derek about the problem.
The Playground
Students discussed the current state of the playground. The current building works means that the students in the large playground have less space at the moment. Students are looking forward to having more space when the new building is completed.
Action
School Council will ask students what they think of the new playground area once we all have the chance to use it.
Lunch time.
Upper school students brought up several issues concerning lunchtime arrangements. Some older students who finish their lunches quickly were unhappy about having to stay in the dining hall for so long after they had eaten. They felt they should be allowed out as soon as they finished their lunches rather than wait until someone was on duty in the playground. Some students said there should be a fairer system in choosing who clears the tables. Some students appeared to be asked rarely compared to others. School Council agreed that everyone should be expected to help clear up and staff on duty should make sure everyone does their fair share.
Action – Concerns to be passed to SMT and fed back to students at Upper School assembly.
NEXT MEETING
FRIDAY 20th MARCH 1pm.
Minutes from the meetings of the school council are
available to download here:
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