A new pupil council was set up on 28th January 2015. All pupils in Year 3 to 6 were eligible to contest the election and also to vote. The PSCD teachers worked closely with Link teacher, Ms C Chircop in organising everything. Lessons about self esteem, good communication skills, diversity, assertiveness, leadership and conflict solving skills were held.
A total of 42 candidates presented their nomination for this election. An electoral campaign was held and candidates witnessed the sealing of the ballot boxes and made use of manifestos, complete with photographs and posters to proclaim why they would like to be elected and what they would do to make sure that they represent everyone in their class. All candidates were given a chance to voice their ideas in class. On the same day all candidates witnessed the sealing of the ballot boxes.
Ballot papers where prepared by Ms Claudine Chircop, Link Teacher.
On Election Day all classes made it to the school hall, one by one according to a preset timetable to cast their votes. Christina greeted voters one by one led the students to the Electoral Commission’s Table where Nathan checked names and marked each pupils. Gabriel stamped the ballot papers before Miriana handed them to the voters. Secret ballot was exercised in four cubicles by writing number 1 and 2 near the name and photo according to their preference. Finally the votes were counted by the members of the electoral commission. Votes were sorted according to class and validity was checked. Head of School, PSCD teachers and Link Teacher were all present during this process.
Turnout for Year 6 was 87%, in Year 5 it was 95%, in Year 4 it was 83% and in Year 3 the turnout was 85%. The Pupils’ Council for 2015 is now made up of:
Year 3
Bertie Briffa (Ms Bezzina Year 3.1)
Francesco Giorgino (Ms Bonello Year 3.2)
Year 4
John Sant Portanier (Ms Chircop Year 4.1)
Kyle Borg (Ms Sultana Year 4.2)
Nirvana Micallef (Ms Magri Year 4.3)
Year 5
Kyle Caruana (Ms Vella Year 5.1)
Matthias Cordina (Ms Ciappara Year 5.2)
Ramon Psaila (Ms Camilleri Year 5.3)
Year 6
Yasmine Vella ( Ms Borg Year 5 6.1)
Michela Cutajar (Ms Richard Year 6.2)
Kelsey Bugeja ( Ms Borg Degiorgio Year 6.3)
The results will be announced officially in a special assembly. We wish this newly elected pupils’ council a successful year of experiential learning for the benefit of all. When children are given the chance to work under guidance by educators, they can prove to contribute a lot, whilst being very responsible and reliable.
Special thanks go to the PSCD teachers, Ms Aquilina, Ms Attard, Ms Sammut, Ms Vassallo, Mr P Decelis, Head of School for conducting the sealing of the ballot boxes and helping in the smooth running of the election, Ms Claudine Chircop, for her invaluable input to every year’s Pupils’ Council and to all teachers who continually instill in their pupils values of democracy and fairness.
Ms Caruana – Assistant Head
Ms Claudine Chircop – Link Teacher for Pupils’ Council
St Ignatius College, Patri Ġużè Delia, Siġġiewi Primary 