Class Officers for 2014-2015
The five officer positions and the corresponding responsibilities:
President: will run the weekly class meetings; assist in planning the meeting agenda
Vice President: will assist in running the weekly class meetings; will fill in for the president or another officer when absent
Secretary: will take notes during the class meetings and be responsible for keeping past meeting notes organized; will assist the historian with the class scrapbook
Parliamentarian: will ensure that there is order during the meetings and that everyone is treated fairly and has a turn to speak. The parliamentarian will also ensure that all students can see the group by keeping students back and correcting sitting behaviors that block others.
Historian: will take pictures during field trips and class parties, collect pictures from parents and others, and organize the class scrapbook. Historians will complete an events form after each field trip, class party and any other event. Event forms will be used in the class scrapbook to document the events we participated in during the year. (Parents and teachers will also be taking pictures that can be sent into the class for the scrapbook. Also we have a class account on snapfish.com where we will post any digital pictures to share).
We will have elections one time during quarter 2 & twice a quarter for quarter 3 & 4. There are five positions so that each student has an opportunity to hold an office. It is not a requirement to run or to hold an office but everyone will have the opportunity if they would like to run.
Rules for running for an office:
- Students must discuss which office they would like to run for with their parents. Students and parents need to consider the student’s strengths and weaknesses compared to the officer description. Also consider if you will be missing school at any time so the student does not miss out on enjoying their full term.
- Students must tell the teacher which position they are running for and I will put their name on the ballot to run for that position. If a student decides to change the position they are running for they are allowed to make 1 change before ballots are printed.
- Students may make posters for the classroom and hand out items to let others know why they are running for office. No bribes (no candy, treats, etc) may be made! Just bookmarks, index cards, notes, etc. may be passed out.
- Election speeches and voting will be made during the week of the election. If there is a tie vote, we will revote the same day for that one position.
- If a student wins an election and holds office, they may not run again. If a student runs but does not win an election, they may run again for any office. If we have an election period where we do not have enough people running to fill all jobs, I will open the blank positions to people who have held office in the past. However, I really strongly urge students to consider running for offices where they have a greater chance to win. An example: if we have five people running for president and no one running for historian, then we all know only one person will win for president. In this case, if someone had moved from president to historian, they would hold office without any running mates. Something to consider!
- All officers will sign a contract before the first class meeting in their term.
- Class meetings will be held (for the most part) on Friday.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please talk with your child first and see if we already discussed it or have them bring the idea to class. I would love for them to start taking responsibility for communication for us. Let’s get them involved!
Our first election will be Tuesday, November 25.
If they would like to run for office, I need to know byWednesday, November 19.
The second election will be January 16 with notification due on January 14.
The third election will be February 27 with notification due on February 25.
The fourth elections will be March 27 with notification due on March 25.
The fifth elections will be May 1 with notification due on April 29.
We are excited to start this process and I will keep you updated on how things are going in the class.
Class Meetings
Class meetings are held (most) Fridays. The class officers will collect meeting ideas from the class mailbox (located in the library) the day prior. Officers will write a meeting agendawith 2-3 items for discussion prior to the meeting and show it to the teacher. The president will call the class meeting once the agenda has been verified by the teacher.
For the meeting, the students will sit in a large circle on the ground with the class officers sitting together. The president will announce the agenda and open the floor for comments on the topic. Students must be called on by the president or vice president before speaking. Comments will be allowed for 5 minutes. After the comment time, students will be allowed to offer solutions to the problem or topic. Solutions will be written by the secretary to be read later. Solutions will be allowed for 7-10 minutes. Solutions will be limited to short ideas and should be original and not repeats of other ideas. Solutions will be listed on the board at the end of the solution time by the secretary before beginning voting. We try to keep meetings to 20mins.
In order to vote for solutions, students will put their heads down and the vice-president and secretary will call out items to be voted on. Students will vote by raising their hand without looking up. If a student looks during voting that student will be excused from voting during that day. The vice president and secretary will tally the votes on the board. The top three solutions will be announced and discussed. If another vote is needed, the process will repeat using only the top three choices.
The meeting will be closed after the final vote. The class secretary will keep notes and write down the solutions that were voted on.
If for any reason during the meeting, the officers need to regroup to discuss something, one of the officers can call for a break and meet with the other officers in the hall. The teacher must be advised before the officers leave the room.