Student Council

ROLE OF THE STUDENT COUNCIL

• To create, in cooperation with the principal, students & staff, a better school life for both students & staff
• To allow the students a voice and to develop a sense of responsibility
• To encourage students of the school to become more aware of how the school is run and to constructively identify and express their needs
• To contribute to the overall school development by being involved in school policy development and to be a resource in a working partnership with the management of the school
• To act as a liaison between students and management

 Structure of the Student Council
 The student council consists of;

• One elected member from each base class throughout the year along with the head boy and girl and deputy head boy and girl
• A representative of staff (Student Council Liaison Teacher)

 Nominations and Elections 

• Process begins with nomination procedure. All interested pupils must fill in a nomination form and be proposed by two members of their class
• Two teachers sign the nomination form, the Tutor and one other
• List of candidates is displayed to each class
• Elections are held by secret ballot and run by 5th year prefects and Liaison Teacher
• Votes are counted by the 5th year prefects and are held by the Liaison Teacher
• If a council member leaves or is dismissed, a re-election for that class will be held
• If there is only one candidate from a class group, they will automatically be elected Heads and Deputy Heads, will take turns being Chairperson

Term of Office 

• Student council will run from October to October, except for the outgoing heads and deputy heads, these places are filled by the incoming heads and deputy heads
• Elections held on the week before the October midterm

Liaison Teacher 

• Attends regular meetings
• Acts as a link between students and staff
• Has a voice but not a vote
• Is a source of information for the student council

Sub-Committees 

• Council reserves the right to form sub-committees
• Sub-committee will consist of a minimum of three students and a maximum of five students
• Committee must contain one student from junior cycle and one student from senior cycle
• Planned activities of a sub-committee must be submitted to the council for approval
• Sub-committees must regularly report to the council on their progress

Meetings and Decision-Making 

• All council members are expected to attend all council meetings
• Meetings take place on a regular basis – at least once a month
• There must be at least fifty percent of members present to have a meeting
• Each member has one vote
• Heads and deputy heads abstain unless they were elected as a class representative
• Decisions are taken on a majority vote
• In the case of a tie the chairperson has the casting vote
• An agenda is set in advance and is to be adhered to
• Attendance is recorded and minutes taken by the Liaison Teacher
• All student council representatives have equal rights to speak
• All contributions must be made through the chairperson to ensure an efficient and effective meeting
• Only elected student representatives, head boy/girl and deputy head boy/girl attend council meetings
• Other speakers may only attend at the invitation of the council

Finance 

• A sub-committee will be set up to look after the money from student council fundraising
• At least two members of the sub-committee must be present when the money is being handled
• The council will co-operate with staff and management when planning fundraising activities 

Removal of a Student from the Council 

Reasons for removal 

• Non-attendance at three meetings without a valid reason
• Breach of School Code of Conduct 
• If a pupil leaves the school
• Removal Procedure
• The student in question must meet the Deputy Principal or the Principal  An explanation for removal will be given to the student by the deputy Principal or the Principal
• The student has the right to appeal the decision to the principal 

Dissolution of the Student Council 

If any of the following four factors are encountered the Board of Management can dissolve the current student council and form a new one; 

• Gross Misconduct
• Financial irregularities
• Activities of staff and students endangered by actions of the student council
• Irregularities in the election 

Changes to the Constitution 

• Any changes to the constitution must be voted on by the members of the student council
• The constitution will be reviewed and ratified annually
• Constitution must be reviewed by a sub-committee
• All members of the current student council must sign the ratified constitution