Meet St. Joseph's School Council!

St Joseph’s School Council 2022-23

With God in our hearts we learn and grow together on our journey through life.

Each year voting takes place in every classroom, for the children to be elected to the School Council.

Y6 –  Kinan & Iris

Y5 – Teo & Isabella

Y4 – Harvin & Rose

Y3 – Aaryan & Piper

Y2 – Alex & Amina S

The School Council aims:

• To have a voice which is listened to

• To encourage pupil engagement in learning and the life of the School

• To take responsibility for their environment, academic progress and standards of behaviour

• To promote active citizenship by having an input into decision making concerning the future of the school

The Roles and Responsibilities of the School Council:

St Joseph's School Council meets at least each half term (with a senior leader) to discuss and sort out problems or to come up with great ideas or initiatives to make the school even better. These may include school lunches, behaviour, business plans or ideas for fundraising events. Members of the School Council will be responsible for carrying out ideas that they have agreed, such as planning charity events, meeting with Governors or putting forward views of other children in the School.

This is what the School Council said about their roles:

"We talk about how we can make school a healthier and better place"

"To make learning as fun as can be at school so children put their heart into it"

"We can get ideas from all the classes on how to make our school better"

"Our role is looking after teachers and people in the school"

"The School Council help the school to be the best it can be" 

SCHOOL COUNCIL TRIP TO THE NATIONAL GALLERY AND THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT

The School Council had its first inaugural trip to the National Gallery and the Houses of Parliament on Tuesday 21st March 2023. It started with a trip to London by train and a scenic walk to the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. There we had a fantastic tour led by the our tour guide Ed, looking at some religious paintings. Firstly we looked at The Wilson Diptych which would have been in a church and depicted the birth of Jesus. Then we were led to The Adoration of the Shepherds where we focussed in on the role of St Joseph as well as Jesus who was providing the light within the painting. Finally we looked at The Ambassadors, by Hans Holbein the Younger, the favoured painter of Henry VIII. This was a very clever painting as it had a skull at the bottom that changed when looked at from different angles! After that it was time for lunch!

After lunch we walked towards the Houses of Parliament through Horseguards Parade where we were privileged to see the changing of the guard. We then walked past lots of important monuments and government buildings, including the entrance to Downing Street!

On arrival at the Houses of Parliament Education Centre we had to go through airport-style security before starting our tour. We were led through the very old buildings and learned lots of facts along the way. We stood in Central Lobby looking at the beautiful stained glass windows of the Patron Saints of all four nations. We were led up lots of stairs to the viewing gallery of the House of Commons where the seats are green. The MPs were debating the issues of the day and we were able to sit and listen for a few minutes. Then we were led to Westminster Hall and stood on the same steps as some of the greats, including Queen Elizabeth II, Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama and more recently President Zelenskyy. We also saw where the Queen had been lying in state when she died. 

After this were were led to the House of Lords, the only area of Parliament where the King or Queen can visit. Here the seats are red. Again, we were able to hear about what they were debating on that day.

At the end of the tour we had a workshop all about Laws and Debating in one of their classrooms. We had to choose a topic and had two opposing sides, one for the motion and one against. We had to put forward arguments for and against a three day weekend. At the end we voted to decide if it should be made a law. We hope to see this happen very soon!

At the end of the visit we returned to Waterloo for our trip home. We had a fantastic but tiring day and have learned a lot about how our country is run. 

School Council meeting with Governor Vanessa Vaughan 14.3.19

At this meeting the children were sharing the views of each class about what their dream of an excellent school would be like. The children were articulate and thoughtful in their discussions and highlighted respect, sharing , kindness, healthy eating, having fun lessons and no bullying. When asked how St Joseph’s could become an even better school their ideas included respect between parents and children, more  practical activities in Science lessons, changing the basketball zones in the playground to include other sports and more subject based after school clubs.

The council said the most important thing the school could do would be to help people around the world as at St Joseph’s we have everything we need. The children also talked enthusiastically and proudly about the School’s recent success in a gymnastics competition, Science Week activities with Tiffin School staff and their litter collection and environmental work.

Vanessa Vaughan (Governor)

Previous school council achievements:

Improved playground – (KS2 Astro turf, table tennis, more equipment, replaced bark in bark area) (KS1 building equipment, stage area in KS1 playground). 

New Library and  wellbeing room.

More variety of after school clubs - (non-sport based) We provided Art Club, Bible Club, Zumba, Science Club and will be looking into other clubs which have been requested.