11/2/12

Agenda 11/2/12
    1. Approval of Minutes
    2. Reports
    3. Bylaw Revisions
    4. Money Allocation
    5. Notes & New Business

“Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much life so. Aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something.” ~Unknown

Council Minutes 10/26/12

1. Approval of Minutes
2. Reports
[Mod] We had the mock election this week. Thank you to Henry and Angad for the presidential election presentation.
[COI] We are looking for a liason for a Dresden Committee. It deals with the curriculum, and it’s nice to have the student input. Come find me if you are interested.
[PR] To bring up a Jcomm case, you must file an appeal with the chair of Jcomm within 24 hours of the disputed punishment. Jcomm needs to meet to elect a chair.
[Curric] We finished reviewing the bylaws.
[SL] We finished working on the golden ticket motion. We also looked into clocks for the lockeroom.
[SA] We have the schedule for Winter Carnival. The next spirit days are Halloween and Harry Potter Day.
[Tech] There was a proposal brought for financing proposed changes, such as updating software or getting new ipads (possibly the new minis). We discussed how to integrate ipads more into the curriculum. We are also looking into getting new equipment for the shop; this is for the two new classes proposed by Mr. Lavigne. Next week we are discussing the Acceptable Use Policy.
[Hist] We always need help restoring documents from the hot-room, so please come help!
3. Golden Ticket Motion
Motion: I move that periodically an email containing a Golden Ticket be sent to students, which gives the student free admission to all school sponsored events for 22 weeks.
The full motion can be viewed on the HHS Council Website.

• SL feels like this motion will bring a positive impact, since it’s getting students involved in the school community.
• Questions:
• Will this include dances?
• No. Dances are fundraisers that are not sponsored by the school.
• Can you give your golden ticket away?
• No. There will be some type of identification, such as the name of the student or even a picture.
• How many emails containing a Golden Ticket will be sent out during the school year?
• We say periodically, but we hope about once a week. Around 36.
• How do we know how much emailing is going to be done?
• Currently Administration doesn’t send out announcements via email, so this is a preemptive motion. Someone can approach Administration about sending out emails.
• Debate:
• Amendment: I move to amend the motion to include, “Which gives the student a free pass plus one to all school sponsored events for 22 weeks.”
• There is more joy in being able to do something fun with someone for free, and I think this would create a bigger sense of excitement about the motion.
• Debate:
• I don’t think this will create more excitement.
• “On behalf of awkward guys everywhere, we need as many excuses to ask people to things as we can get.” -Rowan

Amendment passes.

• This motion is fun, and it helps increase awareness of school culture and community. We should pass it.
• I think that this motion is harmless, but I feel like most people already check their email.
• I think that there should be a motion to have announcements be sent out via email. Then the Golden Ticket motion will have more meaning and purpose.

Motion passes.
4. Chocolate Bar Money Allocation
Motion: I move to allocate $35 to SL to fund the Golden Ticket plan.

• Having a chocolate bar to accompany the Golden Ticket is fun and adds the Willy Wonka sparkle.
• Currently the Council fund holds $1750. If this passes we will then have  $1715.

Motion passes.
5. Long-Holiday Weekend Homework Motion
I move to change the guidelines of the handbook under section 4, “Academic Policies and Procedures” to read:
Assignments over Thanksgiving, December, February, April Vacations, and Long holiday Weekends: Guidelines

Vacations and Long Weekends are intended to provide relaxation and a break for everyone. Therefore, no homework can be assigned over these time periods under these guidelines:
-No assignments can be due the day after a
vacation or long holiday weekend.
-Students, however, can choose to use Vacations and Long Weekends to work on long-term assignments previously assigned.  These long-term assignments must be assigned at least two-weeks before a Vacation or a Long Weekend in order to give students the time to complete them before a break.

• A lot of students were feeling stressed over the past long-holiday weekends. There were reports of students receiving twice the workload. This was created in an effort to allow for relaxation, family time, college tours, etc.

• Questions:
• How do you define a long-holiday weekend?
• Any weekend where there is extended time off due to a holiday (Columbus day weekend, Veteran’s Day Weekend, etc.). The weekend technically starts as soon as school ends on friday.
• Are all days off considered holidays?
• All days off except teacher workshops days and school cancellations.
• Discussion
• This is just the tip of the iceberg on an important issue. We need to discuss feeling overworked and overstressed while trying to reach some standard. Weekends are meant for relaxation, and I think we should protect those.
• I would encourage softening the motion. The no long-term assignments, or no assignments over the long weekend seems harsh. I usually give the equivalent of one night’s worth of homework over the long weekend. So I think this needs to be clarified.
• If no work is assigned over the weekend, then class the day after might will lack purpose.
• I recommend that we fail this motion. It needs to be redefined, reworded, and maybe bring it back as a recommendation. We also need to get teacher input.

Meeting adjourns.

10/26/12

Agenda 10/26/12

1. Approval of Minutes
2. Reports
3. Golden Ticket Motion
4. Chocolate Bar Money Allocation
5. Long-Holiday Weekend Homework Motion
6. Notes & New Business

“It’s easy to judge, to think we know for certain the right thing to do. Sometimes, it just isn’t so clear.”

-Bonneville

Council Minutes 10/19/12

1. Approval of Minutes

• Amendment: I move to amend the minutes to include the failed referral of the “Golden Ticket Motion” to the Student Life Committee.

Motion passes.
2. Reports
[Mod] Next week there will be a mock election as well as a booth for people 18 or older to register to vote.
[DSB] Meeting next Tuesday.
[PR] I will be putting up procedures on the bulletin board.
[Admin] We talked about passed motions that we will be following up on.
[SL] We worked on the new Golden Ticket motion. We are looking at changing the reward to a free pass to any school sponsored event and an included chocolate bar.
[SA] Staff v.s. Senior Quidditch game next week! We are working on Winter Carnival.
[COI] We heard a proposition for a new dance class. We also passed the two new classes proposed by Mr. Lavigne and the Science Department. The first is DARMA, an applied engineering design class where you can tackle real-world problems. The second is Tools 101, where students can learn how use everything in the shop. They were passed with the condition that the prerequisites would be looked at in more depth.
[Henry] We need to take a picture of new and tuition reps for the bulletin board.
3. Bylaw Revision

• Revision: I move to change the mission statement of the Historic Records Committee to read:

The Historic Committee is dedicated to the collection, preservation and dissemination of The Council’s history to the Hanover High School Community and the larger community.

To accomplish this mission, the Hanover High School Historic Committee will:

A. Identify and collect data regarding the history of the Council. This data to be gathered includes, but is not limited to: tapes and transcripts of verbal interviews, historical documents, newspapers, periodicals, manuscripts, letters, photographs, electronic communications, audio/visual records and other relevant documents.

B. Archive, preserve and protect historical pieces relevant to The Council History.

C. Promote and stimulate interest throughout the school community and the community at large in the collections gathered to advance understanding of The Council, its purpose and function at HHS.

D. Present displays, public lectures, classes, seminars, and publish historically significant materials to be used to educate the school community and the public about the heritage and purpose of The Council.
Revision passes.
4. Atrium Cleanliness Motion

• Motion:  I move to implement the Atrium Cleanliness Motion proposed by the Economics class.
• Authorship Speech:
• The problem with the Atrium is that students don’t take responsibility for the space. We came up with a solution to create a safe and clean environment for students.
• The plan is to delegate certain tables in the atrium to the four grades. The grades are then responsible for keeping those areas unmarked (graffiti), clean, and clear of trash. At the end of the day Winter Carnival points (up to 6) would be rewarded based on these three categories. After Winter Carnival points would roll over to next year. For seniors, who would be graduating, a prize of some kind would be awarded if 100 points were  accumulated between winter carnival and the end of the year.
• Questions:
• Who would be evaluating the atrium at the end of the day?
• Ford may be willing to. We would also talk to the janitors.
• How would Freshmen get points for keeping the cafe clean?
• Freshmen would be on the same points system, but we would weight the scoring based on how many tables each grade has.
• What time would the tables be inspected? There are people who use the tables after school, so how would that apply?
• We initially thought that 3:00pm would be the evaluation time.
• What if the goal for seniors to reach 100 points is accomplished early on?
• We can change the point value.
• When you have a grade that continuously doesn’t clean their area, what are the consequences?
• Currently if too much trash is left on a table, the table is closed for the day to everyone. We assume that the consequences would be similar.
• Since points awarded after Winter Carnival roll over to the next year, wouldn’t that give the incoming 9th graders a disadvantage?
• Yes. We will work it out. We could figure out another weighting system.
• What if the last person at a table at the end of the day doesn’t clean up the junk that he didn’t leave behind? Is it fair to him?
• Taking on that little extra responsibility for the sake of the grade will be favorable for the student.
• Hopefully this motion will encourage people to pick up after themselves. Also, at the end of the day, hopefully students will go check their tables to make sure they’re clean.
• Is there a risk that unfortunate dynamics will form between the grades, since students will think that they “own” a part of the atrium?
• The problem is that students don’t feel responsible for the atrium. This motion doesn’t mean that a grade owns a part of the atrium. Instead, grades are responsible for keeping their areas clean.
• Debate:
• I think that Freshmen should get tables in the atrium.
• I feel like keeping track of the awarded Winter Carnival points will fall to SA. I suggest we delegate tables by common grounds.
• I’m not in favor of this motion because it is rewarding personal responsibility, when students should know to pick up trash on their own.
• Refferal: I move to refer this motion to Student Life.
• The motion is still in idea form, so we need to create a clear set of rules and guidelines.

Referral passes.
5. Long-Holiday Weekend Homework Motion

• Moved to next week.

6. Notes and New Business

• We should implement the motion to put clocks in the locker rooms.
• Admin is on it.
• Are teachers required to give x-periods?
• X-periods are at the discretion of the teachers.

Meeting adjourns.

10/19/12

Agenda 10/19/12
     1. Approval of Minutes
     2. Bylaw Revisions
     3. Atrium Cleanliness Motion
     4. Long-Holiday Weekend Homework Motion
     5. Notes & New Business

“The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined with praise rather than saved by criticism.” -Norman Peale

Council Minutes 10/12/12

1. Approval of Minutes
2. Reports:
[Mod] This week in exec we discussed the vetoed motions. We decided that the motions were not in Council’s jurisdiction so we are leaving them be.
[PR] I am putting up Council procedures on the bulletin board. I put up the procedure on how to appeal to Jcomm. Email me (Henry Butler) with any procedure ideas.
[SL] We discussed the Golden Ticket Motion.
[SA] We had a successful Quidditch match! Look forward to more.
[Curric] We are continuing with our bylaw revisions.
[COI] The CG proposal failed. The next step is to go back to the committee that brought the motion and re-evaluate changes that would fulfill the goal of CG. We also had a presentation from Mr. Lavigne on two new courses: DARMA and Tools 101.
[Tech] There was a motion made to be more strict on the use of computers, such as requiring teachers to request computer carts 24 hours in advance. The motion passed.
[Historic Records] We are promoting the years of Council. We are looking for help and ways to get the word out about how Council has helped shape HHS.
Bylaw Notification: See separate sheet.
3. Golden Ticket Motion

• Amendment: I move to amend the motion to read under letter g, “No student can get a Golden Ticket more than once a semester.”
• If you stand a chance of getting another Golden Ticket then there’s more incentive to read the announcements.
• There aren’t enough emails sent out in a year so that every student will get a golden ticket, so it doesn’t make sense.

Amendment fails.

• Amendment: I move to add point k: “The ticket can’t be redeemed in a class in which the student has less than a 75%”

Amendment passes.

• Amendment: I move to amend the motion to read under letter b, “Receiving a Golden Ticket email allows a student to take a class pass when he/she chooses.”
• There’s discrepancy on the definition of “X period”, so we should change it to class pass.

Amendment passes.

• Teachers should include checking email as part of the course standards.

• The main point of the Golden Ticket motion was to create an incentive for students to check their emails for CG announcements. One opposing point suggested that since administration hasn't tried emailing CG announcements yet, it's impossible to know if an incentive is even necessary.
• Referral: I move to refer this motion to SL.

Referral fails.
Motion fails.

• Student Life Committee will review the motion and explore different options for sending out CG announcements. One idea was to replace the Golden Ticket with other incentives, such as gift cards.

4.Intercom Motion

• Motion: I move that after the morning Pledge of Allegiance, there be no intercom interruptions during the school day, except in cases of emergency.

• Admin committee brought the intercom motion back to council with a recommendation to fail. The intercom is the easiest way to get out sports announcements, and to restrict what the intercom can be used for creates too many difficulties.

Motion fails.
5. Bylaw Revision

• Bylaw Revision:I move to:
• strike the Terms of Service Committee, Wellness Committee, Drug Use Committee, and Climate Committee.
• strike the name “Adhoc committees” so that it just reads “Other committees”.
• These Other committees are redundant or haven't been in use for years.

Revision passes.
Meeting adjourns.

10/12/12

Agenda 10/12/12
     1. Approval of Minutes
     2. Reports
     3. Golden Ticket Motion
     4. Intercom Motion
     5. Bylaw Revision

“To be happy, you have to give something back.” ~Oprah

Council Minutes 9/28/12

1. Approval of Minutes
2. Reports
[Mod] Welcome all Freshmen! We are excited to have you here.
[DSB] Mr. Campbell, Mr. Seibal, and Mr. Nurse gave a safety review, and we discussed various school climate indicators. The next meeting is Tuesday, October 23rd.
[PR] 27 new FB likes!
[Curric] We are reviewing the bylaws. If anyone has any revisions, email Kelsey.Smith@dresden.us.
[Admin] We talked about the intercom motion.
[OEC] Freshmen class committee sign-ups are underway. If you are a Freshman and want to join, email Ethan.Gorman@dresden.us.
[SA] Quidditch is coming soon!
[SL] We are bringing the Golden Ticket Motion today.
[Tech] The committee discussed goals, such as revamping the “acceptable use policy”.
[Mr. Campbell] I am vetoing the “Pass/Fail Motion” because it’s not within Council’s jurisdiction. I am also vetoing the “Two-day Review Motion”, because I respect the teachers’ professional judgement. Additionally the handbook already states that teachers have to provide a review for exams.
[Ms. Addante] It might be helpful to the Freshmen to explain what happens when a motion gets vetoed.
-When a vetoed motion comes back to Council, we can decide to respect the veto/revise the motion, or to overturn the decision with a two-thirds majority vote.
[Mr. Borne] I would like to recognize our new board rep, Mrs. Finlayson.
3. Common Ground Discussion

• [PR] The official FB poll yielded 85 votes of keeping CG the same and 55 votes for changing it.
• My CG was not in favor. They felt that Plan A didn’t address any of the issues of CG. Morning meetings split common grounds up too frequently, making it harder to get to know everybody. Also morning meetings create the chance for increased cuts.
• My CG thought that one morning meeting a month would be sufficient; they want to try a pilot program for one month to test it out.
• My CG liked the idea of gathering as a group, but didn’t like the idea of being divided by grade. They want to invest in some equipment for the gym to improve the acoustics so the whole school could meet together.
• I feel like the people who don’t like the people in their CG are in favor of this motion. In that case this plan would not fix that problem, since common grounds sit together anyways at morning meetings.
• My CG isn’t against changing common ground; they are against Plan A.
• If this fails, will you bring up Plan B or C?
• That is up to the committee who drafted it. [Mr. Smith] We got a lot of feedback, and we have some work to do. we will go back and review CG again, because there was an expressed desire from the school to change CG. We just need to find out what changes the school wants to see.
• Freshmen poll. The majority was not in favor of Plan A.
• Freshmen opinions:
• People are unhappy because their common grounds don’t do anything together, other than sit in the same room when they eat lunch.
• People are in my CG want to redistribute all common grounds so that people who have similar interests are in the same common grounds.
• Just because there are a few not-so-exciting common grounds doesn’t mean we should throw them all out. Those that aren’t so exciting should work to improve that. Making plans for future dates can spice things up.
• One of the great things about CG is that everybody is different. The mix is what makes it special.
• Council Poll: The majority was against Plan A.

4. Golden Ticket Motion

• Motion: I move that periodically, an email containing a “Golden Ticket” be sent to twelve students at random.

         Golden Ticket Motion can be found under the downloads page on the Council Website.

https://sites.google.com/a/hanovernorwichschools.org/hhs-council/downloads

• In SL committee we discussed CG issues, mainly arduous announcements. To eliminate administrivia in CG, we agreed CG announcements could be sent via email. Yet not everyone reliably checks their email. So SL drafted the “Golden Ticket” as an incentive to check your email. It can be sent out periodically, since there are hectic times or vacations. Mrs. Nickerson has agreed to work with SL to oversee the process, mainly to keep it from being corrupted. We suspect grumblings from the teachers, but the motion states that a Golden Ticket may be used at the teacher’s discretion. So you can just say no.
• Questions:
• How does this work for students without internet access or other complications?
• The point of this is to get students to check their email anyway. If you don’t have internet where you live, it’s important that you find other times and places to check your email. This will just reinforce that.
• If a teacher says no to the Golden Ticket, is it then void?
• No. You can keep trying with different teachers until you get your X.
• Have you talked to any staff?
• No, but it is ok for motions to go through Council and then go to staff.
• Debate:
• It might help to embed the Golden Ticket into the CG announcements so students are forced to read them.
• I don’t support this motion. I find it to be disrespectful to teachers, since when asking for an X with a Golden Ticket, you’re implying that their class is not crucial or important. The point of this motion is to incentivise communication, and I don’t think those basic life skills should be rewarded. I don’t think we should have a Golden Ticket to teach students how to be responsible.
• Teachers lose a lot of class time to away games or other extra curriculars, so there’s always people missing classes for various reasons anyways. My biggest concern is that there’s a lot of discrepancy on what an X is, so we should change the name. [It is now the Golden Ticket Motion.]
• It’s not something that has to be permanent, and this is a fun way to get people to check their emails consistently. If the teacher says no, the student should respect that right, and try again with another class.
• If there’s a certainty that students will check an email that a teacher sends out, then the benefit outweighs the cost. Also, a student might be having a bad day, or their mind is just elsewhere. In that case no matter how good the lesson is they won’t follow it. Therefore, for the days where students need to take a break, the Golden Ticket provides that opportunity.

Meeting Adjourns.