Meet The Staff Candidates – 2018 Council Elections
It’s election season! On Tuesday, May 8, Hanover High School students and faculty will choose who shall represent on Council for the 2018-2019 school year. The polling station, which will be located in the Atrium (across the hallway from the Media Center), will open at 7:30am and will remain open until 2:30pm. All voters will be allowed to choose 11 candidates at most from the ballot, including candidates from any class or the staff. The 12 candidates with the most votes at the end of the day will become at-large representatives; once the at-large candidates have been designated, each class will receive 5 regular representatives and 1 alternate representative. It remains to be seen what will become of the staff will do since not enough candidates have run to fill all of the staff seats on Council. Elections for next year’s freshmen class (the class of 2022) will be held decided solely by the current 8th grade students at the Richmond Middle School, while new-and-tuition student representatives will be voted on in September.
This specific page is devoted to tracking candidates running from the HHS staff. A Broadside reporter contacted each candidate by e-mail and asked them a series of questions. Here is what each student had to say. Candidates whose names were denoted with asterisks (*) have served on Council during the current school year.
Other segments in the “Meet The Candidates” series for the 2018 election can be found at http://broadside.dresden.us/?tag=2018-council-election.
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AMY GOOD*:
Why are you running for Council?
I am running for council because I like the connection it gives me to the community and sense of the variety of perspectives people have.
What goals do you hope to accomplish in Council this year if elected, and how? Alternatively, what is the biggest problem that you think needs to be fixed at HHS, and what should Council do about it?
Issues around helping students and staff manage stress keep coming up. I do not know exactly what council can do to help make changes, but I am excited to be a part of conversations that are looking at this issue.
Policies aside, why do you think you would be a good representative on Council?
I think I am a good representative because I actively listen to the discussions. I really like being a part of the decision-making process in the school.
HAL BOURNE*:
Why are you running for Council?
I enjoy working with the students, staff and community members on Council. Additionally, as one who sits on CPP, I find value in seeing policies develop in the various decision-making bodies of the school.
What goals do you hope to accomplish in Council this year if elected, and how? Alternatively, what is the biggest problem that you think needs to be fixed at HHS, and what should Council do about it?
I would like to see Council continue to work on finding more casual places for students to work and relax, thereby helping students be less stressed. I would also like Council to contribute to the investigation of schedule changes.
Policies aside, why do you think you would be a good representative on Council?
I am wholeheartedly committed to the democratic principles of the school.
LYNN CEPLIKAS*:
Mrs. Ceplikas did not answer requests for an interview. She currently serves on the Organizational Engineering Committee (OEC). In addition to having served as a Council representative for many years, Mrs. Ceplikas held the position of Council Executive for six years. Her voting record so far from the 2017-2018 school year can be found at: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-dKkt7iVriwpR9Mney651yv7pddjXgow8thE8SbgudA/edit#gid=0
ISABELLA PRICE*:
Why are you running for Council?
After attending this last September as a non-member, I immediately looked forward to attending weekly! I was asked to become a member soon after, given the need for a greater staff presence. I found the Council body articulate and reflective. Notably absent was rancor or animosity in how members engaged with each others’ ideas. I am an educator out of a desire to help teenagers engage confidently in academics (and beyond), learn how to learn, communicate well, and contribute generously to their communities. Ideally as individuals in a school community, we can influence our broader macro communities to grow beyond a sharply, divided climate into a paradigm borne from respectful, deeply thoughtful communication and collaborative processes. Change happens within one’s own sphere of control and influence.
What goals do you hope to accomplish in Council this year if elected, and how? Alternatively, what is the biggest problem that you think needs to be fixed at HHS, and what should Council do about it?
As someone who works as an educational assistant, I, in many respects, live the life of a student: I am a member of five core academic classes a day; the other two periods I actively facilitate students’ learning in resource room-type spaces; During “X” periods, I typically work with one or many students…or complete assigned homework so that I can more effectively support students! During activity periods, I have meetings and attend clubs and Council. The pace at which we, at HHS, process, produce, and engage is enriching and satisfying, though at times the multitude of foci on any given day creates excessive mental juggling! In contrast, at college I engaged in only a few disciplines each day, deeply reflecting on the intricate details of each subject matter. This approach was more in line with learning theorists’ emphasis upon depth over breadth of content. That being said, I am passionate about mental-emotional health and moving the body–also essential considerations for enhanced mental processing!
This last week I created a template Google doc that displays a “brain-rained” (or brain-dumped) organizer of the various considerations a new schedule would need to incorporate, including various disciplines’ needs: daily, shorter courses for math, foreign language, and music classes (to facilitate repetition of material); longer periods for science (and probably PE, both of which involve extra time for labs and equipment set ups). I look forward to sharing this template with Council in a few days as a suggested method of organizing the minutia in this conversation. I am hopeful of where the conversation will lead regardless of how many parties are involved or the length of the processing time.
Policies aside, why do you think you would be a good representative on Council?
My K-12 school system in the Seattle suburbs excelled in leadership and innovative programming: I began participating in school government in the fourth grade; In fifth grade I became treasurer and spent hours after school counting money made during popcorn sales; In subsequent years, I followed an older brother’s shoes by becoming elementary school then middle school president. Through middle school leadership classes, a close friend and I produced and directed original creative productions presented for the entire student body that showcased the talents and collaborative efforts (in production and on stage) of a broad array of students in and outside of the leadership classes. In high school I participated in leadership conferences around the state and country, primarily through Girls State and student council. In the fall of my junior year in Washington, D.C., I co-created a mock bill with a subcommittee of twenty; I was then asked to present to the larger conference body of 400 students from around the country. I had been astonished to be selected to speak and, later, deeply touched when congratulated via excited whispers by my nearby sub-committee members on my return to my seat. I learned early on that others’ respect my opinions most when I listen intently to others’ perspectives and focus upon the power of working collaboratively. True leadership, from my hopeful, non-Machiavellian perspective–and countless leadership theorists– consists of skill sets far removed from bombastic volume, boastfulness, or cunning, ruthless tactical strategies.
