School Council and Pupil Leaders
School Council News
A very big thank you for the money that has so far come in for our big St Michael’s Sponsored Silence that has been happening all week in our classes. Your support has been overwhelming and we will be able to buy a lot of board games for the young people who go to Thirst Youth Café – and I am certain we will be able to provide them with other activities too. It is such a wonderful and safe place for young people to attend, as I know many of our former pupils will confirm and am sure that those of the future will also agree. Our young people in Bishop’s Stortford, are very fortunate to have space. It is a registered charity and relies heavily on support.
The event has certainly been a challenge for many of our children, but they have risen to it, involved themselves in a range of activities and found silent ways of communicating. As I shared with Year 3 this morning, the spoken word is only 7% of the ways in which we communicate!
Thank you
Penny Brooks and School Council
At Christmas, we raised money and put together boxes for the Well-Beloved Club.
For the Well-Beloved Christmas boxes for the elderly, we have raised £170-00 and 15 boxes have been made up with goodies, cards and well-wishes. These will be gratefully received by local elderly people who are supported by the Well-Beloved Club.
Remembrance Day
Normally, School Council would lead a whole school assembly but due to restrictions, they decided to film it to be shared in individual classrooms.
School Council decided to ask everyone to dress in red (red to represent poppies, to represent the soldiers) and bring in a donation in place of selling poppies which was sadly not an option in 2020.
As a school community, we raised £252.00.
Well-being
After returning to school after the first lockdown, School Council put together a list of questions to ask children across the school. They were filmed reading their questions in this video that was shared with the whole school.
This was to prompt class discussions about well-being and to get the children at St. Michael's School to do a 'check-in' with themselves and their mental well-being.
Classes enjoyed lessons and activities linked to promoting positive well-being.
Making A Difference
Not only do our School Council make a positive difference to our school, they have an impact on the local community and beyond.
We now have Eco-Reps who lead and manage recycling crisp packets and take them to the local recycling bank.
We have written a new school prayer which is used in all class assemblies and is displayed in each classroom.
In 2017-18, our School Council were involved in:
Creating closer links between St Michael’s and local elderly people: We organised an afternoon of ‘tea, biscuits, and discussion’ related to 200 years of St Michael’s, where selected children from years 5 and 6 hosted and interviewed older people about their school days, comparing how things are the same and different. The children served drinks and biscuits and provided a school tour. Some were previous students of St Michael’s School! This was a popular, and beneficial experience for all and one we hope to replicate next academic year due to its success.
Special Themed days and events in school:
Anti-bullying week: School council helped plan and run a whole school assembly on anti-bullying. The children set a whole school competition to decorate an ‘anti-bullying superhero’ which was popular and children across the school entered. Prizes were given to a few selected artworks, selected by school council children and myself and prizes handed out in assembly by the school council children.
British Values:
School council children ran a whole school assembly using a drama piece and story linked to British values and how different religions all share the same values. Each class was tasked with learning about a different religion and decorating a jigsaw piece to sum up what they learned. Year 5 school counsellors with my help created a large heart using the jigsaw pieces. This artwork sits in reception as a reminder of British Values and acceptance and tolerance of other religions and cultures.
To offset the carbon emissions of the school by planting trees. To aim for a long term goal of a carbon neutral school:
Posters made and put up around school reminding people to be carbon neutral. Work towards carbon neutral school status- questionnaires with every class conducted by School Council children.
Whole school litter picking: collected litter from school grounds.
In 2016-17, our School Council were involved in:
Raising awareness of anti-bullying by holding a comic-strip competition for the whole school and running an special assembly.
Raising money for the Bishop's Stortford Food Bank in a variety of ways.
Feeding back to the PTA on what our children would prefer the Winter Disco to be like.
Working with Miss Griffiths on a Reading Charter and deciding ways to further improve the new library in order to encourage as much reading as possible.
Helping the Senior Leadership Team to create parts of the new school vision; related especially to the kind of curriculum our children would like.
Surveying our children to see how they would like us to further develop the outdoor environment, including favourite book titles for our reading signpost.
Feeding back to the Governing Body as to how they found their time on the School Council and what tips they might give to the next set of councillors!
...And more!
Eco-Award Project
Cake Sale 28th March 2018
The School Council raised £139.50 to raise money towards us developing St Michael's into an eco-friendly school - our first target is lighting. The children are very interested in getting motion sensor LED lights for each room in the school. This is a BIG project and only part of the work we are doing to become more eco-friendly!
Pupil Leaders
At St. Michael's we also have pupils who make a difference by being Learning Champions, House Captains or as part of the Fundraising Committee.