CONSTITUTION OF MOYLE PARK COLLEGE STUDENT COUNCIL

Aim of the Student Council: To represent students so as to make the school a better place for students.

The structure of the Student Council will be as follows:

§ 1^st Year 3 students

§ 2^nd Year 3 students

§ 3^rd Year 3 students

§ 4^th Year 2 students

§ 5^th Year 3 students

§ 6^th Year 2 students + 1 prefect

There can be a maximum of 17 students on the council
A representative of staff, to be known as the Liaison Officer
There should at all times be at least one representative of each year group
The student council will elect a Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson, Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Public Relations Officer, Treasurer, Communications Officer and any other appropriate officer

All Student Council Members must be voted onto the council by way of an election

Elections must occur in May of the school calendar, with the exception of 1^st Year elections
All registered members of Moyle Park College are entitled to put themselves up for election
All registered members of Moyle Park College are entitled to vote

The election procedure is as follows:

In May of the school calendar, the Student Council of the following school year is elected with the exclusion of 1^st Year, 4^th Year and the 6^th Year Prefect Representative
1^st Year elections should occur in November of the school calendar
4^th Year elections should occur in September of the school year
The 6^th Year Prefect Representative should be selected by the prefects themselves. This vote must be co-ordinated by the Prefect Co-Coordinator in September of the school year
The outgoing 6^th Year will not have elections as they will not be present for the following school year
Once the elections have been completed, the outgoing Student Council must train the newly elected members for a period of 30 days.
Once this 30 day period is up, the outgoing members of the Council no longer hold any position on the council, attend meetings or provide training, unless he was re-elected by his year group during the election process.

The following are general procedures for elections:

Students interested in joining should acquire a nomination form from the Student Council Secretary
This form should be signed by two students from his year group who are willing to nominate him, by his Form Teacher and by one other class teacher
A list of nominees shall be made available to the student body
Students shall only vote for a student in their year
Students shall vote in a secret ballot, by marking an “X” in the box beside the nominee of their preference
It should be noted that students should only vote for one nominee, marking more than more nominee shall result in that vote being considered spoiled
The votes will be counted by member/members of staff independent of the Council
Nominees, members of the Student Council and the Liaison Officer shall not count any votes; however the Liaison Teacher and members of the Student Council may supervise the counting of the votes
The three candidates with the most votes shall be deemed elected to the Student Council
The ballot papers shall be retained by the Liaison Officer for a period of 365 days after the election took place
In the event a Student Council member resigns, the student with the next highest number of votes shall replace him

The responsibilities of the outgoing Student Council are:

To inform the newly elected students how various aspects of running the Council are such as Meetings and Non-Uniform Days
To supervise the election of the various positions on the council and to give these members advice on their jobs
To attend at least 2 meetings chaired by the newly elected Chairperson and report back at the end of these meetings
To provide at least 1 session of after-school team building exercises as outlined in the Government guidelines.

Liaison Officer

His/Her responsibilities are:

All Council members are expected to attend all meetings.
Meetings take place at lunchtimes one day a week.
There must be ¼ of the council for a meeting and 2/3for a formal vote.
An agenda is set up in advance and adhered to.
Attendance record is kept and minutes are taken.
All Council members get an equal say, and are expected to contribute to each meeting.
All contributions must be made through the Chairperson
Decisions are taken on a majority vote.
All problems discussed at meetings must be treated with discretion, respect and confidentiality.
Meeting may be just to keep in contact with other members.

Attend Weekly meetings.
To be actively involved in Student Council activities.
To represent the year group and set a good example to others.
To stand as a group and support decisions made by the Students Council.
To maintain a good relationship with staff.
Upon election, council members sign a ‘contract’, in which they agree to attend to this code of conduct.

In order for procedures to be started, the Liaison Officer must receive three complaints from individual members.
The Liaison Officer issues a warning
If there are further breaches, the Council member will be asked to resign.
The Council member has the right to appeal in front of the Students Council.
The decision to remove the Council member is voted on.
The result is the decided by a majority vote and it is final.

The following reasons are valid for the removal of a council member:

From time to time, the Student Council may consider it necessary to establish a working group or sub-committee to work on a particular issue.
The working group/sub-committee will be formed from members of the Student Council willing to take on the task.
The working group/sub-committee will have no decision making powers.
The working group/sub-committee is not required to keep minutes, but is accountable to and should report back to the whole Student Council.

It is not permitted to raise the following at any Student Council meeting:

Any uncomplimentary mention of staff, management or student by name or by implication.
Individual grievances between pupil and teacher.
Any disciplinary matter involving a student or group of students.