Quarter 2 Council Update

Despite two school breaks, multiple snow days, and an extended exam week, Council has still had a very productive and eventful quarter! We began the quarter with a discussion in regards to a motion brought by Mr. Murphy about Squirtfest, formerly known as Assassin, which asked Council to “strongly oppose the continuation of Squirtfest.” 

It is a game played by the senior class where the objective is to squirt opposing teams with a water gun. It is organized by the senior Class Committee and is not a school-sponsored activity. Mr. Murphy’s motion generated significant attention within the school. Many of the arguments in support of the motion referenced the safety risks of the game: As Squirtfest is not allowed on the school property, HHS students are often found running around Hanover and Norwich and hiding on private property. Additionally, some mentioned the optics of students ‘shooting’ each other with water guns as mass shootings in schools continue. Many students argued that it was not within Council’s jurisdiction to comment on an out-of-school-activity. In the end, the motion failed.

Afterwards, Council directed attention to discussing the Summative/Formative Notification Handbook Revision, also known as the Anti-Pop Quiz Motion. In essence, the motion would require teachers to notify students about any summative or formative assessments in advance; this would prevent teachers from giving pop quizzes. The arguments in favor of the motion mentioned that student mental health is affected by performing poorly on pop quizzes that they cannot prepare for and cannot retake. In a survey of a sample of the student body, nearly 80% of students stated that they had had a pop quiz while at HHS, and a majority of students were in favor of getting rid of them. Those arguing against the motion maintained that it was dictating how teachers teach their classes, which is outside of Council’s jurisdiction. Ultimately, the motion was referred to the Curriculum Committee for further review. 

Next, Council discussed the Land Acknowledgement motion, brought by Kai Doron (‘23), which required that any reading of the pledge be accompanied by a statement acknowledging that the land upon which our community was built was the ancestral homeland of multiple Native American tribes. Sentiment in Council was generally supportive of the motion, however the motion was referred to the newly-formed Examining Equity Committee for more research.

Council ended the quarter with a discussion about another motion brought by Mr. Murphy, this one about safety concerns on Hovey Lane. The motion asked Council to recommend to the Dresden School Board that Hovey is limited to one-way traffic to prevent traffic build-ups before and after school. The language of the motion was amended to become more broad, and when it was passed, recommended that the Dresden School Board “investigate safety issues in the back parking lot.” The School Board will work with local authorities as well as the school administration to find solutions to this problem. 

Yet another successful quarter of Council in the books! Remember, we would love to see you at Council or committee meetings!