by Tonia Whyte Potter-Mal, PYP Coordinator -

Early in the school year, upper primary students were introduced to the idea of TK’s first Primary Student Council and this generated an overwhelmingly positive response! A keenly interested group of students attended an initial meeting organised by the guiding teacher committee council led by Ms. Costa, Mrs. Tipping and Mr. Dennis.

Together, they discussed the purpose of establishing a student council, the overarching goals of student leadership and important guidelines for the campaign process. Interested students were given about two weeks to establish unique campaigns and prepare individual speeches to be presented to their peers prior to the voting session. The three main roles for the Student Council were President (Grade 6 students), Vice-President (Grade 5 students) and Class Representatives (Grades 4, 5 and 6 students).

Students recognised the important connection between their desire to be young ambassadors of the school community and the many qualities needed to fulfill their prospective roles. At different stages of the electoral process, students reflected on attributes of the Learner Profile and PYP Attitudes modeled by strong candidates.

Students campaigning for President and Vice-President designed a range of crafted posters to reinforce their convincing messages and the strength of their candidacy. They displayed these visuals in strategic locations around the campus while others created accessories including campaign buttons for members of the community. In the final days of preparation, the momentum steadily increased as candidates refined their efforts to persuade voters from their target audience.

Candidates for President and Vice-President presented speeches to all upper primary classes during lunchtime assemblies in the gymnasium. All of these students missed their break time twice to celebrate these exciting moments with these young and aspiring leaders. Every student in Grades 4, 5 and 6 had the opportunity to vote for one boy and one girl on their ballots. Following this event, class voting sessions were held to elect Class Representatives.

After tallying student votes from different stages of the election, teachers shared results and announced members of the newly formed Student Council:

Grade 6 Presidents: Taanvi and Vedang

Grade 5 Vice Presidents: Rachel, Aidan and Lucas (due to a tie between two candidates)

Grade 4 Class Representatives: Rio, George, Adya and Keira

Grade 5 Class Representatives: Edie and Mimi, Maya and Arib, Cecilia

Grade 6: Class Representatives: Sanya, Soumya

Throughout the electoral process, candidates captured the essence of what it means to be respectful, principled, confident, creative and open minded.

The new Student Council already had their first meeting and brainstormed different ways they could represent their school community through leadership. Some of these ideas include welcoming visitors and new students to the campus, acting more visibly as role models for younger students on the playground and assisting at a variety of TK community events to support both local and global initiatives.

At Uniting Nations Week, the Student Council introduced the Teacher-Student Folk dancers and guest artists for the Bhangra and Flamenco performances.

Congratulations to all students who campaigned for the Student Council elections best of luck to the elected students as they collaborate and contribute to an exciting year ahead!

Many thanks to Ms. Costa, Mrs. Tipping and Mr. Dennis for guiding students on this journey!