Constitution of the

High School Student Council

 

Mission

The mission of ASL Student Council is to represent and provide leadership for the student body,
and to contribute to the spirit and mission of the school. The Council acts as a voice for the
student body by representing them to the faculty, administration, parents, Programme
Committee, and Trustees.

This constitution has been adopted in order to ensure that the Council operates with efficiency
and productivity in its protection and articulation of student needs and views.

Membership
 
Elected members of the council are to act as role models to other students as dedicated,
responsible, and enthusiastic individuals. They are to be willing to devote their free time to
weekly after-school meetings, council events, committee meetings, and numerous other
council-related activities. Council members are expected to thoughtfully voice the concerns of
their peers, enthusiastically lead and participate in council and school-wide discussion, and
actively involve themselves in council activities.

The Student Council expects its work to be among the top priorities of each of its elected
members, regardless of grade or position. Attendance of all council events and meetings is
essential to the group's functioning and is thus mandatory.

Most Student Council meetings shall be open to participants from the student body; as such,
someone who consistently attends council meetings and assists with projects and event
organization may be considered a non-voting member. These members are not bound by the
same requirements and responsibilities as voting members but are encouraged to adhere to
those standards regardless.

Member Responsibilities
 
Each elected member of the Student Council is required to attend all general Student Council
meetings and council-sponsored events. Members are expected to join and participate in
committees, and are required to attend meetings of any committee of which they are a
member of. Participation in committees, council projects and school events is mandatory for all
members. Members are also expected to remain aware of student body issues and concerns
and to raise those issues in general council meetings and relevant committees. With regards to
all of these roles, members are expected to inform the Secretary of action items that they must
accomplish within a week. Members are expected to complete these tasks in that time frame
and shall be accountable for their achievements.

Officer Roles

President
The President of the Student Council is the leader of the Student Council. They are responsible
for running general meetings, keeping track of Student Council projects and upcoming events
and remaining aware of pressing issues in the High School. The President should meet regularly
with the officers and Student Council Advisor in order to plan the council’s business effectively.
The President has the right to run and structure the council as they see fit, to alter the
membership of the council throughout the year as necessary, and to appoint members to lead
council projects. The President has the responsibility to ensure that the council is successfully
accomplishing its goals with regards to major events and projects, to ensure that members are
contributing to the work of the council, to ensure that morale among members of the council
remains good, and to ensure that the council is constantly striving to embody its mission. To
this end, the President shall set goals for the council and its projects to ensure continued
success and improvement.
 
Vice President
The Vice President and President work in close consultation, together overseeing, developing,
and leading Council plans and initiatives. The Vice President presides over Council meetings in
the President's absence, performing all the duties of the President. The Vice President is
responsible for keeping the Student Council calendar up to date in regard to events, high school
meetings, and Student Council meetings. As well as keeping the calendar, the Vice President
also organizes and runs High School assemblies, working closely with the Director of Student
Life.

Secretary
The Secretary is the official note-taker and record keeper of the Student Council. They maintain
an accurate record of all meetings and makes this available to the Student Council. The
Secretary is in charge of attendance and council organization, and thus ensures that each
member is accomplishing their tasks and fulfilling their responsibilities. The Secretary shall
regularly send out reminders to the council about upcoming events, meetings, and individuals’
action items. Should an issue arise with a member of the council with regards to their
commitment, the Secretary shall discuss consequences with the President and Vice President.
The Secretary is the highest-ranked officer on the council in the absence of the President and
Vice President, and shall therefore run meetings in their absence unless the President or Vice
President has appointed a different presiding officer.

Public Relations Officer

The Public Relations (PR) Officer is in charge of overseeing communications between the
Student Council and the rest of the school. The PR Officer is accountable for keeping the
student body up to date with the Student Council, especially regarding advertising for upcoming
events. The PR Officer is expected to produce and publish all marketing materials and to keep
track of upcoming events and ensure that all members are contributing to those events’
planning and execution.

Treasurer
The Treasurer is in charge of all of the council’s banking, budgeting, and other financial issues.
When a member makes an expenditure for purposes relating to the council, the Treasurer is
expected to reimburse them with the council’s budget in a timely manner.
Committees

All members of the Council are expected to serve on committees. Committees are created
within the Council to focus on a particular issue, plan a specific event, or to work as an advisory
group to another association or individual outside of the Council. Normally, these committees
are formed as needed, and are open to a certain number of individuals as set by the Council
President.

The following is a list of committees to be carried on annually. All other committees are to be
created as needed.

The Catering Committee

Purpose: To meet and discuss with the cafeteria staff and other faculty members and suggest
changes in food, service, or other pertinent articles.
Additional Details: The committee chair shall select two members of the committee to attend
the regular Catering Committee meetings that include members of the administration and
students from other school divisions.

The Technology Committee

Purpose: To address student complaints regarding issues in the school with technology, such as
the internet connectivity, printing, Google Accounts, Schoology, and online standardized test
registration.
Mission Statement: The Technology Committee is a standing subcommittee of the HS StuCo,
created to ensure that the ASL’s technology programs support High School Members’s learning
objectives and strategies.

The Academic Committee

Purpose: To regularly provide student input on academic-related issues to the administration,
through weekly meetings with the Assistant Principal of the High School.

The Public Relations Committee

Purpose: To plan and advertise for Student Council events and to keep the student body
apprised of the Student Council’s actions.
Additional Details: The committee is led by the elected PR Officer. During the lead up to major
annual Student Council events, such as Halloween, Spirit Week and Bangers & Bash, all
members of the council will be expected to contribute to the PR Committee regardless of
whether they are part of that committee.

The Advisory Committee

Purpose: To organize the logistics and publicization of the annual Advisor Choice Forms and to
address student concerns around the advisory program by meeting with the Director of the
Advisory Program.
 
Conduct of Meetings

Agendas of the weekly council meetings shall be created by the Secretary in advance. These
agendas shall include “Pressing Business”, such as major upcoming events that require the
whole council’s attention, “New Business”, which are issues raised by members or the Student
Council Advisor that must be addressed promptly by the council or by a new committee,
“Committees”, which asks all committee chairs to give a report on any updates and progress
made by that committee in the past week and gives members a forum to raise issues that
should be addressed by that committee, and “Action Items” where each member outlines their
tasks for the week ahead. The presiding officer of the meeting shall ensure that the meeting
remains orderly and efficient. Meanwhile, all members are expected to listen attentively and
positively contribute to the meeting. Distractions, including side conversations, phone use, and
laptop use are prohibited; the President may take measures to prevent these distractions as
needed. The presiding officer retains the right to remove a member or participant from the
meeting and to change the items on the agenda within reason.

Attendance Policies

Council members should understand that Student Council takes priority over all other
extracurricular commitments. Members are required to attend all general council meetings,
committee meetings, Student-Council-sponsored events, and individual responsibilities such as
announcements. The Secretary shall keep track of attendance at general meetings, events and
announcements, while committee leaders are expected to take attendance at their meetings
and report back to the Secretary. Student Council takes priority over all other commitments,
including sports practices and club events. Exceptions can be made in the case of family
emergencies, academic events, sports games, travel or essential meetings for other
extracurriculars (such as elections of student organization officers). These excuses must be
reported to the Secretary at least 2 days in advance.

Election of Members
 
At the beginning of the fall semester, following the first Council-organized event in September,
the President and Vice President will dissolve the old council and call for a general election
(those who served on the council for the previous academic year retain their responsibilities
until the results of elections are announced). The election process shall occur as follows:
1. The President and Vice President will hold an open meeting for all students considering
running to be a member of the council. The meeting should inform students of the
application process and deadlines, and should explain the structure of the council and
member responsibilities. This meeting should occur within the first two weeks of the
academic year, though the President and Vice President may change this as needed
2. The President and Vice President shall create and release an application form, through both
a school-wide email and an announcement, which prospective candidates must fill out in
order to qualify as a candidate. These applications may include questions asking why a
student wishes to serve on the council and why they are qualified to be a representative.
The President and Vice President, in consultation with the Student Council Advisor, will have
full discretion over the content of the application form.
3. The President and Vice President shall review the applications and accept candidates who,
in their view, would positively contribute to the council. The President and Vice President
should be prepared to justify any rejections of candidate applications and should consult
the Student Council Advisor before formally rejecting a candidacy.
4. The Office of Academic Advising shall create and distribute nomination forms to approved
candidates requiring them to collect the signatures of 25 of their grade-level peers. Official
candidates shall have one week, from the time that their candidate application is accepted,
to secure and submit their signature form.
5. After the signature form submission deadline, the President and Vice President shall
schedule class meetings for each grade to occur as soon as logistically possible and no later
than two weeks after the signature form submission deadline. These class meetings will
allow candidates to deliver a short (2-3 minute) speech in favor of their candidacy.
Campaigning prior to or during this class meeting is forbidden; campaigning can include, but
is not limited to, asking voters to support oneself or someone else in the election, telling
students to ask voters to support a candidate, creating posters or other forms of campaign
advertising, and giving out food, money, or other items of potential value with the
expectation of building a generous reputation prior to an election.
6. Once speeches have been concluded, ballots (printed at least two hours in advance by the
Student Council Advisor) shall be dispensed to the voting students, collected, and counted
by the President, Vice President, and any council member willing to help that has no
reasonable vested interest in the outcome of that election.
7. The President and Vice President shall inform candidates individually, through the Student
Council email, of the result. Once all membership elections have concluded, the President
and Vice President shall announce the members of the new council in a school-wide email
and an announcement.

Resignation & Removal of Members

Should a member choose to resign from the council, they must speak to the President, Vice
President and Secretary in order to decide how to manage the resignation in an orderly and
efficient manner.

Should a member fail to positively contribute to the council in accordance with their
responsibilities and expectations, the President and Vice President may choose to remove that
member from the council or remove their voting power. This is an acceptable action for
infractions such as lackluster attendance at Student Council general and committee meetings
and events or lacking participation during these meetings. Members may also be removed if
they violate the ASL Code of Conduct or otherwise harm the reputation of the council. The
President and Vice President have ultimate discretion, in consultation with the Student Council
Advisor, on the removal of a member from the council.

Should a member leave the council, the President and Vice President shall decide how to
inform that member’s constituents in order to ensure transparency. Meanwhile, the President
and Vice President shall take appropriate steps to replace that member. Members can be
replaced by one of the following methods: a new special election among the relevant grade
level’s students, offering the position to the person who most narrowly lost the membership
election at the start of the academic year, offering the position to a non-voting member of that
grade level, offering the position to someone else, or leaving the position vacant.
Officer Elections

Student Council officer elections shall occur twice each academic year. The Semester 1 elections
will choose a Secretary, PR Officer and Treasurer and will be held during the second Student
Council meeting of the academic year (this time may be changed by the President and Vice
President). Prior to these elections, these officer roles shall be fulfilled by the previous holder of
the position. If that person was not reelected for that academic year, the President and Vice
President may choose an elected representative to serve temporarily in that capacity. The
Semester 2 officer elections will select a complete set of five officers and will occur in the week
following Spirit Week – depending on organizational issues, this may occur in late February or
early March. Should Spirit Week take place during any other month of the school year, for any
reason whatsoever, officer elections will take place in the first week of March. There will be no
campaigning for any of the officer positions, as described in the “Election of Members” section
above.

Elections for each officer position shall be carried out in the order they are listed in the
Constitution.

Candidates for officer positions must meet the following requirements and must inform the
President, Vice President and Secretary of their intention to run at least three days before
elections are scheduled to occur. Candidates for Vice President should notify the President, Vice
President and Secretary at least a week in advance, and candidates for President should notify
them at least two weeks in advance.

President
He/she must have previously served on the HS Student Council for a minimum of 1 year prior to
election. He/she cannot be a current senior or someone graduating at the end of the academic
year.

Vice President
He/she must have previously served for a minimum of 1 semester on the HS Student Council
prior to election. He/she cannot be a current senior or someone graduating at the end of the
academic year.
Secretary
He/she must have previously served for a minimum of 1 semester on the HS Student Council
prior to election.

Public Relations Officer

He/she must have previously served for a minimum of 1 semester on the HS Student Council
prior to election.

Treasurer
He/she must have previously served for a minimum of 1 semester on the HS Student Council
prior to election.

Requirements for these officer positions may be reasonably waived at the discretion of the
President and Vice President with the approval of the Student Council Advisor.

At the beginning of each election round, the current President will read out the officer role
description. The candidates will then proceed into making their speeches to the Council in a
concise fashion (candidates will speak in alphabetical order of their last name). After this is
done, members will write down the names of all candidates for that officer position, numbered
and ranked in order of preference, with the most preferred candidate at the top, and the least
preferred at the bottom. The Student Council Advisor, President and Vice President will collect
the ballots, exit the room, and count the votes before returning to announce the result and
allow election processes to continue.

Should no first-place candidate receive a majority of votes, the vote counting procedure will be
as follows: of the first-ranked candidates, the candidate with the least amount of first-place
votes will be eliminated. Those votes will each move to the highest-ranked candidate not yet
eliminated on each of those ballots. This procedure will continue until one candidate remains.
Should there be a tie between two candidates, the one with the least first place votes in the
original count shall be eliminated. Should there be a tie for the least first place votes, the
candidate eliminated will be the one with the most last-place votes from the original count.

Should there be an irreconcilable tie between the top two candidates for an officer position, the
Student Council Advisor, President and Vice President will determine how best to proceed,
which may include a re-vote, having the top two candidates serve as co-officers, or taking the
vote to the student body.

For elections for the presidency, speeches among the candidates shall be held within a week
before elections are scheduled to be held. These speeches shall occur in a large public space in
the school and will be open to all High School students and faculty. As with any Student Council
event, it is the responsibility of the PR Committee to adequately advertise for this event in
advance to ensure good attendance among the student body. Presidential candidates shall
deliver speeches about 7 minutes in length in alphabetical order of their last name, which shall
be recorded on video by a Student Council member in attendance. After the speeches, all
candidates will take questions from members of the audience. The President and Vice President
shall choose how best to distribute these recordings and collect student body opinion on the
candidates so that members can represent the views of their constituents in the elections.

All voting Student Council representatives are expected to attend these speeches. If absent,
those representatives shall be responsible for watching the video recordings of the speeches.
Should they fail to do so, the President and Vice President shall have the ability to strip that
member of their voting power for the presidential election.

Should there be an irreconcilable tie for the presidency, the vote shall be taken to the student
body unless one of those leading candidates chooses to concede the election.

The Secretary, PR Officer and Treasurer shall serve terms approximately one semester in length,
from the time they are elected until the next election for that position. The President and Vice
President shall serve yearlong terms and will continue to work on planning the goals of the
council over the summer break.

Should a President be unable to complete their term due to a changeover in the academic year,
the Vice President shall take their place and appoint a new Vice President. Should a Vice
President be unable to complete their term, the President shall appoint a replacement before
the start of the academic year. Should neither be able to complete their terms, the Student
Council Advisor shall choose an Acting President, preferably a candidate who recently sought
the presidency or vice presidency or the most recent Secretary, until a new council is elected
and a new President can be elected by the council.
Officer Impeachment

If, at any point during the school year, the Student Council feels that an officer is not fulfilling
his/her duties to the Council, that officer may be removed from office following the process of
impeachment.

Any member may go speak with the Student Council Advisor at any time to voice his/her
complaints about a certain officer. If a certain officer is the subject of numerous or severe
complaints, the Advisor shall inform the President and Vice President who may choose to call
an impeachment meeting, mandatory for all members of the council.

During this impeachment hearing, the subject of the impeachment may deliver a statement to
defend themself and call character witnesses to speak on their behalf. The members who
accused this officer will also be allowed to speak and call witnesses, arguing in favor of the
removal of that officer. At the end of these proceedings, all members of the council shall vote
on whether or not to remove the officer. Three fifths of votes are required to remove an officer,
and three fifths of the council must be present at the impeachment proceedings in order for
proceedings to begin.

In certain circumstances, it may also be appropriate for the President and Vice President, in
consultation with the Student Council Advisor, to remove an officer from their position and
replace them with a special election or by appointing a replacement from the council’s
membership.
 
Spirit Point System

The Spirit Point System is devised to encourage team spirit and promote positive competition
between the grade levels.
In planning an event, the Student Council must decide whether to award spirit points for
student involvement in those events.
Events and contributions that merit spirit points will be placed into the following categories:
booster and buffer.
Booster Events & Contributions
Booster events are intended to help grades to pull ahead in the competition. The following
classification is used to generalize the point values of current events, and should be used when
determining point values for new events.

Large Booster Events

Events classified in this category are those involving the entire high school, and may involve
more time and/or physical work than other events. For these events, each grade gets one
“entry,” designed so that every grade has an equal 25% chance of winning. Ideally, victory
should not rely on a single person’s efforts.

Points are assigned for 1st place (100 points only) and 2nd place (50 points only)

Examples of “large” booster events include, but are not limited to Spirit Week Assembly
activities such as the dodgeball tournament, a dance-off, or a game of tug-of-war.

The validity of the contribution should be judged by an impartial party (that is, not by a
student).

Medium Booster Events

Events classified in this category are smaller events involving the entire high school. In such
events, victory relies on the significant contributions and efforts of a single person or a small
group.

Unlike in large events, “entries” in this category are not limited to one per grade.

Points are assigned for 1st place (40 points only), 2nd place (20 points only), and 3rd place (10
points only).

Examples of “medium” booster events include, but are not limited to a costume contest or
dance-off outside of Spirit Week.

The validity of the contribution should be judged by an impartial party (that is, not by a
student). In the past, teachers have judged costume contests.
Small Booster Contribution
Points in this category are not assigned for any specific event. Instead, they are assigned to
specific individuals for display of outstanding spirit, or standout actions.

An example of such an act can be found in the case of Sawyer Owens, a freshman who was the
only person to dance during a dance-off at the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year.

There are no winners or losers in this category, and the points received for such contributions
are the same for everyone (10 points only).

The validity of the contribution should be judged by an impartial party (that is, not by a
student).

Buffer Events & Contributions

“Buffer” events are those in which all grades theoretically receive the same or a similar number
of spirit points, and thus no single grade gains a greater lead than before the event.
While points awarded for buffer events may inflate spirit point tallies, they also penalize grades
with substantially low spirit, who will fall behind in spirit points.
To account for the different number of students per grade, the buffer points given to a grade
should be curved according to the following formula:

100 x
POINTS=
S

where x is the number of students who participated in the event, and S is a constant denoting
the total number of students per grade. Since these events technically do not affect a grade’s
current lead, they can be used to “pad” scores, and to remind the student body of spirit points
throughout the year. Examples of events that would merit buffer points would be Halloween
and Spirit Week.

Amendments

Amendments to this constitution may be proposed by any member of the Student Council. In
order to pass an amendment, or proposal pertinent to the content of this constitution, a vote
must be held of the members of the Student Council, requiring two-thirds or greater of
members present (14 votes among the full council). Passed amendments will be inserted into
the relevant section of this constitution, or a new section shall be created to contain it.

This Constitution, along with its Amendments, has been ratified and signed by the High School
Student Council, March 12th, 2020

Arjun Narasimhan
Secretary

Adnan Bseisu Maddie Wilkin

President Vice President

Raquel Dawson Harrison Hunt

Public Relations Officer Treasurer

Micaella Lavi Lea George

Former President Former Vice President

Hadley Bridges AJ Laurienti

Former Secretary Former Treasurer

Cian Mesch Arhan Sarma

Grade 12 Representative Grade 11 Representative

Ruhan Bhasin Darren Morris

Grade 10 Representative Grade 10 Representative
Ella Podurgiel Ava Porter
Grade 10 Representative Grade 10 Representative

Nick Zirinis Gabi Dawson

Grade 10 Representative Grade 9 Representative

Poppy Fordu Parker Forgash

Grade 9 Representative Grade 9 Representative

Ela Gulener Gigi Taymor

Grade 9 Representative Grade 9 Representative