Final Council Update
This year the Council has been just as busy as any other, and has resulted in quite a few exciting motions to be passed, especially in recent months. Among these motions are the Senior Exam Motion, Web Presence Motion, Roll-Call Vote Motion, and the motion to include Restorative Justice as an option in the Academic Integrity Policy.
The Senior Exam Motion, which will take place in the 2014-2015 school year, states that seniors are exempt from taking final exams in any class that they have an A- or above average for (90% or above). It must be noted that this motion does not apply to any final projects or papers, and does not apply for the Midterm exams taken between the First and Second Semester, and that a senior with a 90% or above may still take the exam for that particular class if they so desire. After significant deliberation and a few amendments, this motion has been passed by Council, and is currently waiting to be reviewed by the HHS Faculty before Principal Campbell makes a decision whether to pass or veto the motion.
The Web Presence Motion asks all teachers to have an student-accessible online resource, such as a website or online calendar, that provides information such as daily homework assignments and PDFs of worksheets or other class materials available for download. This motion was passed by Council under what seemed to be generally positive staff feedback; departments in the school such as the Foreign Language Department have already adopted and continue to observe this protocol.
The Roll-Call Vote Motion calls for a roll-call vote (a voting procedure in which the decision of each voting member at Council is recorded, attached to their name) on all major Council motions. These lists will then be published in a readily accessible document, located as a physical copy in the Library, to be viewed by anyone in the HHS community. The purpose of this motion was to increase transparency of the involvement and opinions of individual Council members, while encouraging voters to educate themselves about which candidates they feel most comfortable voting for come election season. Similar motions were also passed this year that require attendance lists for Council and all of its subcommittees to be recorded and published as well, in a similar way.
Perhaps the most exciting and long-awaited motion to come to Council this year, however, was the Restorative Justice Motion. In 2012, the Curriculum Committee was charged with instituting a new system into the school system, one called Restorative Justice, that focuses on reparative action after a transgression has been committed. The goal of Restorative Justice is to focus on the healing of the victim, the perpetrator and the greater community as it has been affected. By using a facilitator to foster a sense of both accountability and forgiveness between the affected individuals, Restorative Justice is an alternative option to other, more punitive results that would be administered onto the offender. After a successful pilot program, a few minor tweaks and a presentation not only to Council but the staff as well, Restorative Justice as a final product was brought before Council by Curric. By voting yes on it, Restorative Justice is now officially a part of the Academic Integrity Policy, and is already a completely viable option for those wishing to “set things right” after any sort of transgression. Council would like applaud the Curriculum Committee for their tireless work and outstanding effort, as well as the HHS administration and staff for their cooperation and support.
