Pupil Council Meeting
5th November 2008
Present: Andrew (Chair), Mrs Coutts, Claire (Secretary), Billy, Ian, Dean,
Emma, Keira, Jack, Mr Lawson, Karen (Minutes)
Apologies – Hillary Franklin
Previous Minutes
Parent Council – Andrew attended the Parent Council meeting on the 4th
November to represent the Pupil Council.
Bullying – Mr Lawson is anxious that pupils are not coming forward to
report any issues they are having with other pupils. He is aware that the
older secondary pupils may be imposing on younger secondary pupils. Mr
Lawson explained to the council members that they must report any
issues. They are to explain this to their classes.
Mr Lawson asked if we needed to draw attention to the Help Box. Some
of the council members were not aware of the Help Box. Billy suggested
moving the box to an area it could be seen but Mr Lawson explained that
it needed to be out of the way so pupils felt they had access to it without
other pupils being aware of it. It was decided that Andrew and Claire
would give a presentation at assembly to make sure everyone is aware of
the Help Box.
Equipment – Since the last meeting we have bought Pool cues, Table
Tennis bats and have retrieved badminton rackets from the leisure
centre. Emma suggested that some pupils would like a proper netball and
hoops. All the council agreed to buy a proper netball but thought the
hoops would be too expensive.
Litter – All posters have been done by the Middle Primary but asked
Emma to still do a few of her own to display.
Uniforms – Still waiting on some sizes. Due to the length of time taken
for the uniforms to come we will order them from a different supplier
next year.
Trips / Activities – Billy suggested a Treasure Hunt for secondary
classes. Mr Lawson thought it would be a good idea to have the Mid Yell
hall booked for the activities days in case of bad weather.
New Build – The new contractor should be appointed this week. S1 have
been monitoring the site and taking photographs from set points around
the school to set up a timeline of pictures. Mr Lawson would like the
council to meet with Stuart Smith to discuss the New Build.
Activities at break time – The rota has been done and will be on the
notice board today. The quiet room should be starting soon. Notices will
go up in the school as well as the huts. Karen is to make up notices. Mr
Lawson suggested having chess, board games and scrabble and the council
thought these could be included in the quiet room. Quiet room helpers
will go for lunch at 12:50 (front of the queue) and will be exempt from
clear up that day.
Mr Lawson has spoken to Mr Williamson about having a secondary football
tournament. Jack volunteered to assist him.
Dean would like to have a primary table tennis tournament. The primary
council members are to have some sessions where they can find out which
pupils want to play then give their names to Dean who will organise a
tournament to start at the beginning of December.
Mr Lawson asked the council if they wanted a chess tournament this year.
The council agreed that this would be a good idea and Billy volunteered to
speak to Mr McLean to arrange it.
Mrs Coutts suggested playing beetle but none of the council actually knew
what beetle was so Mr Lawson agreed to the council playing beetle at the
next council meeting!
Basketball tournament 10th November – Mr Lawson would like to make
sure that pupils show a good attitude if they are given the chance to
participate in school trips. Pupils will only be allowed to take part in
activities / trips if they can show that they are hard working.
Dress Code – Andrew said the council were finding it difficult to write
the Dress Code. The primary council members had spoken to their
classes and decided they did not want pupils wearing high heels or wearing
anything that distracted other people. Mr Lawson explained a little more
about the dress code to help them. Mr Lawson also asked them to look
for dress codes from other schools to help them. A draft copy is to be
finished by Christmas. Billy and Claire will have a look at other school
websites and download their dress codes and meet with the council on
Friday morning (they are to check with teachers that this is ok)
Any Other Business
Equipment - Claire said the girls toilets has no soap. Mr Lawson said this
is being dealt with.
Dean would like to get table tennis balls.
Ian would like to get the sports shop back. Now that the weather is
turning bad it was felt that it wouldn’t be used at the moment but maybe
in the spring.
Dean asked about getting a flat ball. Mr Lawson will get one.
Bike Shelters – Emma suggested getting bike shelters to keep their bikes
dry. Mr Lawson will ask Steve if there is anything he can do but since we
are in the process of building our new school he felt their would not be
any point in spending a lot of money on shelters.
Baked Tatties – Ian and Emma both requested that the Primary should
be allowed to have baked tatties at lunchtime. Mr Lawson and Emma will
go and speak to Alana.
School Dance – Andrew asked how much money S4 are allowed to spend
for the Christmas dance. Mr Lawson asked them to write up a detailed
proposal of how much they need for decorations, food etc. Money is tight
this year so Mr Lawson suggested they could do their own fundraising as
well.
I pods – Claire’s class are not happy about the new rule stopping them
from listening to their ipods in class time. Mr Lawson explained that
listening to ipods all day long was not good for them and the school felt
that using them during class time was not appropriate. They are allowed
to use them during break times and in Flex time but only with the
teacher’s permission.
Trips – Billy wanted to have a school trip out of Shetland for S2. Mr
Lawson explained that they would get a chance of a foreign trip in S3/S4.
There cannot be trips every year as there would be financial implications
for parents if they had to fund trips yearly.
Curriculum for Excellence – Mr Lawson explained to the council that
there are to be new changes to the curriculum. These new changes are all
to be focused around the pupils. There will be posters going up around
the school and leaflets will be handed out to parents. Each member of
the council was given a poster to take home. Mr Lawson also told the
council about the Blueprint for Education, which decides about the
futures of small schools, Junior Highs and Nurseries. He explained that
all these decisions would impact on the future of the island.
There is to be a meeting on Thursday 14th November about the
Curriculum for Excellence. All secondary council really should try to
attend the meeting and also invite all their classmates to attend.
Next Meeting Thursday 4th December