The student council of Tallaght CS consists of 20 students, with each year represented. The council will have regular meetings to discuss student issues which are brought to their attention from our students, teachers or management. The council looks at these items in detail and discuss ways in which action can be taken on them. Meetings take place between the Council and other members of the school community to try to address concerns among the student body and improve school life. They are also consulted by staff and management on policy changes or reviews and provide the students with a voice on these matters. Check out the Student Council notice board on the 1st corridor or the school website to find out more.
Student Council liaison teacher - Mr Eddie Grimes
The work of the Student Council
A Student Council is a representative structure for all the students in the school. It provides students with the opportunity to become involved in the affairs of the school, working in partnership with school management, staff and parents. It should always work for the benefit of the school and its students.
- Communicating and consulting with all of the students in the school; – Involving as many students as possible in the activities of the Council;
- Planning and managing the Council’s programme of activities for the year;
- Managing and accounting to the student council and Board of Management, for any funds raised by the Council.
The Student Council can be involved in many activities in the school.
Here is a sample of some Student Council activities:
- Liaising with the Principal and Board of Management on issues of concern to students;
- Communication and co-operation with school staff;
- Working with Parents Council in school;
- Co-operating with management and staff on the development of school rules and regulations;
- Be involved in developing the curriculum in your school;
- Involvement in School Planning;
- Having a say in school policies e.g. anti-bullying policy;
- Making suggestions about improving school facilities;
- Extra-curricular activities;
- Links with other schools;
- Getting involved with the community;
- Mentoring younger students;
ACCS Education Conference and Launch of the Student Voice Journal
“Student voice must be meaningful to the students and should ultimately arise from them and be led by them, with appropriate support and facilitation from teachers and school leaders.
It involves dialogue and consultation with, and the engagement and participation, of students, but with the full understanding that when decisions are made students are clear that they have had a say, and that they have been listened to and heard, and the reasons for decision are communicated to them in a clear and appropriateway.”
(Dr. Domnall Fleming, School of Education, UCC)
Well done to all our excellent students involved in promoting Student Voice at Tallaght CS. Special mention goes to all those TY and LCA 5th year students involved in the LIFT Leadership and Mentoring Programme with Ms Kelly. Also to all our fantastic representatives on our Student Council working hard with Mr Grimes.
We were delighted to have been working for the past two years with the Áine O’ Sullivan and the ACCS on developing Student Voice in our school. The last piece of work was our excellent presentation at the ACCS Education Conference on May 12th with over 100 people in attendance. We had Zoe, Tara and Marilia from TY with Nathan and Chris from LCA 5 volunteer to do a 15-minute slideshow Presentation on the benefits of the LIFT programme for Student Voice in our school.
Also, as part of this project the ACCS are producing a Student Voice Journal with contributions from all the Community schools involved and other education bodies working to promote Student Voice in Ireland. We had 8 members of the Student Council write fantastic articles on their experiences of Student Voice in school and during distance learning. We look forward to seeing their articles published in a national journal, a great achievement by our students.
Links
www.spunout.ie
www.jigsaw.ie
www.ourvoiceourschools.ie