Agenda 10.7.15; Minutes 9.30.15
Post date: Oct 7, 2015 1:51:45 PM
Agenda 10.7.15
Approval of Minutes
Reports
Money Allocation
Underclassmen Awards Discussion
Freshman Open Campus Motion
Notes and New Business
Council Minutes 9.30.15
“Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly...” ~Proverb
Approval of Minutes
Reports
Moderator: Open House next Thursday
Treasurer: Club funding is in the final process of being sent out
Secretary: Perfect attendance. Committee attendance is updated. All committee attendance refers to a larger spreadsheet.
PR: Next Gen Leadership program last Saturday; got great ideas to improve Council community in the future
Admin: Met to discuss transferring Late Start motion from SL to Admin. Also discussed J Comm motion
Curric: Discussed what the problem is with homework; potential survey discussed
OEC: Welcomed 10 new members onto J Comm. Will be looking at bylaws
Student Life: Met to discuss transferring Late Start motion from SL to Admin. Discussed Basket Ball hoop.
Student Activities: Posters about Quidditch and set solid rules for Quidditch
RJ: Discussed wording for script video
COI: Finalized building goals
Nick Beard: New letter about LGBTQ curriculum in health class
J Comm Motion
Motion to: amend Article VII, Letter F, Number 3, Point ii to read ‘elections will take place in the fall and be organized by the Organizational Engineering Committee’ and to strike Article VII, Letter F, Number 3, Point iii.
Brought back from Admin Committee with recommendation to pass
Motion Passes
Late Start Motion Transfer
“I move to transfer the late start motion to admin” (Student Life to Admin)
Admin needs something to do
Motion Passes
Underclassmen Awards Ceremony Discussion
Marion Umpleby wrote a letter to the Nick Beard Opinion Board about Underclassmen Awards because many of the students who are recognized are already recognized in other ways. The ceremony causes us to compare each other. Hanover is very motivated where people all try to do their best. Many work hard all year and are not recognized at the ceremony at the end of the year, but you must sit and watch a select group of students receive awards. Your best should be good enough.
Language awards have a specific award night. People with awards are invited.
More diverse awards needed
Ceremony gives incentive to some people to do their best
Athletic teams have banquets to recognize and award students
Many awards aren’t attainable, even if you work extremely hard and do your best. Awards can be subjective.
Only one art award
It doesn’t always feel good to get an award because others deserve it too.
“Feel bad about yourself day”
Say person’s name first instead of their qualities so that people concentrate on who the person is and what they’ve done instead of who it could be. All positives are lost when person isn’t named first.
Often resentment. Often not positive feelings.
Focusing on 20 students who all do well and get the same awards every year is silly. Recognize everybody or don’t recognize anybody.
HHS is an academic institution whose goal is to create better students and learners. Just because one person is recognized that doesn’t mean other people aren’t working hard.
Goal is to learn and recognize those who do well in class
Important to preserve and value awards with historical value and meaning — awards in memory of somebody (for example a staff member or a student who has passed on)
Nobody can be good at everything
Seeing other people get awards can be a positive experience too (not just getting an award)
Grit: hard work put towards the end in the long run. Let’s celebrate grit.
Eliminating the ceremony may not be the right path to take. We should change the ceremony to make everybody feel good and recognized instead of just a few students.
Feeds into the stressful pressure cooker culture at Hanover (get good grades, go to the Ivy League school, etc.)
Meeting Adjourns