A student council for L.V. Rogers has been in the works since last year when a few students decided to tackle an issue that was slowing the progression of their classes.
These students were in classes that were highly dependent upon computers and wireless Internet for research and Word document processing. Unfortunately, the technology at the time was not good enough to keep up with the pace of the students and their teachers.
In response, Simon Hradil-Kasseckert, Lily Miller, Michael Marsland, Merissa Dawson, and Kozmo Sammartino reached out to other students with petitions, and a letter-writing campaign to express the need for better technology to administration, as well as politicians that deal with education in BC.
Once the letters and petitions were sent off, responses were received from Premier Christy Clark, as well asSchool District 8 superintendent Jeff Jones. Clark wrote back with insights regarding BC-wide improvements of technology through the Ministry of Education, and Jones wrote back eager to meet with students to discuss what the school district was doing about it, and where there is room for improvement.
While meeting with Jones, it became clear to Hradil-Kasseckert, Miller, and Dawson that there needed to be abetter channel for students to communicate with SD8 administration. The student council was formed to bridgethat gap. With the mission statement “building student voice while collaborating with administration,” the student council hopes that it will not only make it easier for students and administration to communicate, but that it will also instill in LVR students the habits of effective citizenship.
Since its formation part way through the first semester of this year, the council comprised of Hradil-Kasseckert, Sammartino, Hannah Sachs, Amelia Martzke, Sophie Burkholder, Linn Murry, Miller, Talia Westergreen, Charly Defouw, Hannah Collinson, Kaitlyn Taburiaux, Margeret Saville and Sophie Borhi, has worked hard to move towards a school that is more connected with its administration.
The council members have hosted a world café style open meeting to brainstorm issues, and have conducted a schoolwide survey to see which of those are most pertinent to the students. The council’s next step is to present the findings of the survey to the administration, and have a dialogue about how the students can solve the issues while working toward a uniform goal with the administrators of SD8.
What’s unique about the LVR student council is that the entire initiative is student led. The council should not only leave a lasting impact on LVR, but should also strengthen leadership and citizenship traits in the student community.