Many New Council Members Absent at First Meeting as Reps. Nominated for Leadership Positions – Council Update (4/24/19)
Council opened to a smaller body than expected as many new Council members declined to make an appearance at their first meeting. However, this was likely due to a “miscommunication” about the start date of the new Council, according to Secretary Mason Winter. Moderator Seigne and AMOD Granizo-MacKenzie then reminded Council members up for leadership positions to keep speeches short, as long speeches could lead to Council interference in the academic day; as it is, even with short speeches, next week’s Council meeting will likely last well into 4th period. Other reports revealed the Admin Committee’s discussion of the Skip Bean award, Student Activities continued pursuit of a full day winter carnival, Student Life’s annual quest for an improved Caf, and OEC’s ongoing look into 8th-grade elections.
The first item on Council’s agenda was the 8th Grade Election Bylaw Revision Notification brought by Secretary Winter and Teacher Representative Ms. Ceplikas. The legislation would move 8th-grade elections to the fall, held concurrently with new and tuition student elections; the revision involved changes in multiple sections of the bylaws. A brief question session clarified that incoming 8th graders coming from schools other than RMS will vote in new and tuition student elections.
Following the notification, nominations for the 2019-2020 leadership positions began. A table of the nomination-acceptees follows:
| Moderator | Assistant Moderator | Secretary | DSB Rep | Treasurer | PR Rep | CPP Rep |
| Ian Nolon | Casey McGuire | Momoka Schmidt | Ian Nolon | Tom Lyons | Sage McGinley -Smith | Alex Rockmore |
| Noah Phipps | Clay Kynor | Steven Wang | Casey McGuire | Tessa Stewart | Trevor Siegel | Noah Phipps |
| Clay Kynor | Noah Phipps | Andrew Chen | Noah Phipps | Trevor Siegel | Alice Garner` | Steven Wang |
| Tessa Stewart | Ellie Stannard | Ellie Stannard | Reilly Uiterwyk | Reilly Uiterwyk | Andrew Chen | |
| Steven Wang | Reilly Uiterwyk | Alex Rockmore | Andrew Chen | Pierce Seigne | ||
| Ellie Stannard | Andrew Chen | Steven Wang | Casey McGuire | |||
| Clay Kynor | Tessa Stewart | Sabin Mitchell | Sabin Mitchell | |||
| Alice Garner` | Sabin Mitchell | Clay Kynor | ||||
| Tom Lyons |
*Nominations are only current as of the end of the meeting. Candidates may be added or dropped at any time preceding the vote for a specific position.
Council spent the remainder of its time participating in the “Exploring Student Democracy” guided discussion, brought and led by New and Tuition Student Rep. Hayden Smith, a Junior. In the presentation preceding the discussion, Smith used a few quotes and his own voice to call members’ attention to the idea of “Blue Sky” ideas, ideas that might seem far-fetched but could create huge positive change in our school. Afterward, members split into small groups to discuss their ideas, and with a few minutes left in the meeting, Smith called the group back together. He asked a few groups to share the major ideas they discussed, in present terms; they were asked to describe walking into HHS five years from now after the changes had been made. From the groups that shared, two common themes shined through: members want to integrate the community more (whether that means including the community on major votes, or moving Council to the Caf for greater visibility), and a more relaxed school environment (with ideas ranging from no honors classes or grades, to simply more group projects).
Council adjourned with a call to action, and hope for a new Council year starkly contrasting the one preceding it: one full of aimless discussions, and constant amendments.