Student Council Elections

by Wendy
This week concluded campaign week! 7th Grade students ran for the five Executive Council positions on the SGS Student Council.  The election on Tuesday coincided with our national election day. Twelve 7th graders boldly stepped into their courage zones to run for office.

The way our SGS Executive Student Council works, there are 5 positions of equal weight (instead of a president, vice president, secretary and treasurer). Within this flat hierarchy, students co-plan and co-facilitate meetings of the school-wide student council (with 2 representatives from every grade level, 5th through 8th). 

In an effort to ensure fairness and voter education across the student body, all candidates observed clear guidelines.  They created one poster that was displayed at school between Tuesday November 1 and Tuesday Nov. 8. No candy, buttons, flyers, or other schwag was allowed.  Each candidate answered four identical questions (with answers transcribed by Wendy) for our SGS Voter Education Guide, which was shared online with the entire student body. Those questions:
  • Why do you think it’s important to have a Student Council?
  • How do you envision leading Student Council meetings with 4 co-leaders and grade level reps?
  • What’s one way you could impact our student community (all grades) at SGS for the better?
  • How else might we engage with the community beyond our walls?
Finally, all candidates gave a short speech on Monday, Nov. 7 (the day before the election) at our all-school Community Meeting, describing their strengths for the position and any ideas they might have for the school.
Our goal is for this whole experience to strengthen our community. All of the candidates are celebrated for stepping up to lead. This year’s Executive Council will include six students (as a result of absentee ballots being counted, and there being a tie between the 5th place candidates):  Ava, Camila, Frieda, Kate, Lois and Taliesin. For those who were not elected, there are numerous, rich leadership opportunities throughout the 7th grade year. This is only the beginning!
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Located in the Central District, Seattle Girls' School is an independent school for girls and gender nonconforming students in grades 5-8. Our mission is to inspire and develop courageous leaders who think independently, work collaboratively, learn joyfully, and champion change.