Congratulations to the secondary student council’s new executive team 2020-2021!

• President: Frank Y, grade 12

• Vice President: Pari B. grade 12

• Director of Communication: Neil V, grade 11

• Secretary: Ruwaida R, grade 12

Every new leadership team brings fresh ideas and development plans. We chat with our student leaders to find out what they have planned for the upcoming school year. 

How do you feel about being elected to the executive team?
Frank: After 5 years of unrelenting and resolute effort, I was elected as the president. I am extremely proud of myself and thankful for everyone who has helped me during this process. I am grateful for the trust that the student body and staff have in me, and I will make sure that I do not disappoint them. I look forward to working in this position, cooperating with different people and being the face of the school. I believe this will be an experience to treasure and look back on when I grow up, and I will never forget it. 

Pari: I am very grateful for this opportunity and excited for the upcoming year! Over the years, CIS has shaped me into the student that I am today, equipping me with the resources and skills I need to achieve my full potential. I am honoured to now be involved in this, and to take responsibility for crafting a great school experience for me and my peers. I am eager to come into my role as the Vice President and work with the rest of the council and the student body for a great year ahead!

Neil: I’m honoured and thrilled to be elected to this year’s executive team! CIS has become home to me and it is exciting to be in a position where I can work with the council to make our student experience even better and leave our mark on the school. I look forward to doing my part in putting together a unique and great academic year ahead for our entire community. Go Huskies!

Ruwaida: Having learned the true value of change at CIS, being an elected member of the student executive team has allowed me to consider myself exceptionally lucky because I’m able to initiate changes first-hand within our academic, social and leadership system. Assuming this position not only means I can act on my responsibilities as a student leader, but also exploit our strengths and grow from weaknesses as a team. Working with such people is not only a privilege but also a journey I am looking forward to!

What are your plans for the upcoming school year?
As a team, we will come together to contribute to 4 aspects of our school:

• School spirit

• Student committee management system

• Student council body relations

• Communications 

First, we have plans to introduce exciting new traditions to our school culture in order to encourage bonding and school spirit within our sports teams. We will do this by supporting our talented creative arts community. 

Next, we are promoting student-friendly communication methods to encourage transparency and real-time updates on student council initiatives. We also hope to include revamped events that incorporate student feedback and address their concerns about the role of the student council within our school system. 

Through such efforts, we hope to bolster a positive and exhilarating secondary school experience with positive and refreshing changes that will prevail for years. 

How the executive team was elected given the ongoing circuit breaker situation?
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic made our election process a little different this year. We uploaded videos where we discussed our perspectives on the matters that we believe need addressing, and we presented plausible actions that we as executive team members will proactively commit to solving these issues. We realised that it wasn’t so much about winning votes, as it was about giving students hope of change. 

What are some ongoing or new challenges that the student council will face and how do you plan to take action as a student body?
With the new academic year coming up, we believe that some of the major challenges will be to refresh student views on the student council and encourage active student participation. 

As a student body, we are also concerned with the ebb and flow of the student council so some improvements are in order. With this in mind, we plan on reorganising the inner workings of our teams and we expect this to translate into foreseeable results in the near future. We believe that if students were to feel positive and proud of the student council, they will be more motivated to join our team. Ultimately we hope to build the student council into a student body that people will feel honoured to join and be a part of it.