CLASS REPS FOR GRADES 8-9-10

ELECTIONS WILL BE ORGANISED BY OUR NEW STUDENT EXECUTIVE SOON!

Vote Anna Bachand for VP

Student Council Promo

EXCOM 33 CANDIDATES FOR 8 POSTIONS - assembly not practical!

• WOW! We have so many candidates 33 for these 8 positions! So we face a real perhaps impossible challenge to create an opportunity for them to speak. I have never experienced this before in my years working with student councils at other schools. We have an embarrassment of riches with the enthusiastic response of Grade X1.Even at 2 minutes each, it would take over an hour - two blocks of school time and that is not really practical. I cannot ask for club time as the clubs have started late this quarter. 
• It's not easy to justify taking IB class time and even the TOK Lesson on Friday will not be long enough. The voting itself will take a long time as each Grade X1 student will have a vote for each position by secret ballot. That is a time consuming process and a teacher must collect each vote separately to ensure that no one votes twice. So Friday TOK Class is just not sufficient.
• I cannot think of any viable option unless we all come to school on Saturday morning - have the speeches and have the vote. However as you all know each other well and can choose wisely, I am reluctant to hold a special assembly on Saturday morning which would take an hour and the voting and count would take another hour at least. Then add on the traveling time. It's also not fair to those students who may already have plans for Saturday morning. Certainly some candidates might not make it and would be disadvantaged.
• We may have to proceed to the vote without a special Grade X1 Assembly for EXCOM speeches. I will consult with Mr Gardner but my inclination is to simply run the election during my English classes on Monday and Tuesday, that way I do not have to disrupt the classes of other teachers.
• I will arrange extra Saturday English classes to make up for lost time this semester. 
• All the votes would then be counted after school on Tuesday.We would arrange for a small group of students to be present to assist and witness the count. The results would be posted on this blog on Tuesday evening immediately after the count.
• Of course the assembly tomorrow and the election for the President (and Deputy Presidents) will go ahead as planned. The difference is the number of student speakers and the time required to make it happen.
• This solution is not perfect and I have wrestled with the decision but I do feel that it is fair. Please do not only think of what is convenient for you personally, I have to consider the needs of the curriculum and the economic use of time.

8 candidates for President SSC

• There are 8 candidates for President - the male and female top runners up become automatic Deputy Presidents. No matter what the outcome, we are all winners as this reveals you are a group of engaged and committed independent learners. A strong field of candidates is a great launch of our student representation.
• You must prepare a 2 minutes(max) speech for our assembly in front of grades 8/9/10/11 on Wednesday Block 4.
• Focus on your special skills - what are your special qualities that you will bring to the position.
• Be passionate but not shouting or strident. Strong and sincere is good, in a clear audible confident voice, shouting in a school assembly will make you look over-emotional.
• Voting for President will take place in Grades 8-11 on Friday morning in tutor groups. The tutors will deliver the votes to the office.

RULES FOR A FRIENDLY CAMPAIGN

• A4 LEAFLETS MAY BE POSTED ON SCHOOL NOTICEBOARDS IN CLASSROOM AND CORRIDORS.
• DO NOT POST ON WALLS, WINDOWS OR DOORS.
• DO NOT REMOVE EXISTING NOTICES OR LEAFLETS FROM OTHER CANDIDATES.
• POSITIVE CAMPAIGNING MEANS YOUR WRITTEN AND SPOKEN WORDS EMPHASISE YOUR LEADERSHIP AND ORGANISATIONAL QUALITIES. THERE IS NO NEED TO MENTION OTHER CANDIDATES. DO NOT CRITICISE OTHER CANDIDATES.
• DO NOT MAKE EXTRAVAGANT or UNREALISTIC PROMISES -example -"I will get Starbucks to open a branch in school." The campaign is about finding the most dynamic student leaders, policy goals will be set later in consultation with the Teacher Mentor and the Principal.
• DO NOT use undue influence through gifts or inappropriate tactics.
• Electronic canvassing through the internet is ok but follow the rules above also. Send Mr C a copy of any internet post or emails you send.
• Keep it clean, friendly and honest. Remember we will all be working together after the election in Student Action Groups, no matter who wins the EXCOM positions.
• Failure to observe these guidelines may lead to the removal of candidates from the ballot.

Student Council List of Candidate Names will be posted today Monday

• Dear students - the deadline for nomination forms is today at 2pm. 
• There will be a short meeting of all candidates at 440pm to announce the list of candidates in Room 9. There will be a short whole school assembly mid week for the Presidential Candidates to speak to the whole school.
• No new candidates will be eligible to join the election after today.
• Voting for President will take place on Friday morning at 950am in GRADES 8-11 Tutor Groups.
• Voting for Excom will be arranged for Gr X1 students only by Mr C in ALL TOK Classes on Friday.
• The new President, Deputy Presidents and Excom will be announced after the count. They will meet with Mr Gardner and Mr C to arrange the class rep elections for Grades 8-10.
• The new Excom will also set up Student Action Groups around each officer to work on projects as a team. For example, the Environmental Officer will suggest names for a Student Action Group to the Teacher Mentor and Excom. This group will then work on projects in that area. So each Excom officer will have a TEAM working with them to share the work and ensure efficiency. 
• The Student Council Executive (Excom)will meet as a club in Q4 but will meet with Mr C before that to begin work on a set of goals and targets and timelines.

TOK BLOGS FROM 6 SCHOOLS AROUND THE WORLD - RESOURCES, RESOURCES, RESOURCES!

http://ibtheoryofknowledge.blogspot.com/

Fermat's Last Theorem (1996) Part 1 of 5

EXCOM - the difference between the elected posts and the action committees?

I am delighted by the enthusiasm demonstrated in several emails I have received over the last 24 hours. However, we hope to meet your concerns without expanding the Executive Committee further, if it gets too big it becomes unwieldy and less effective. The White House is served by one elected President and one Vice President for 350 million people - they then appoint staff members with key skills, in  BD there will be support committees of students who are selected by Excom and the teacher mentor rather than elected by the whole student community. For example, the SSC will not organise any events to clash with MUN and the Secretary General will have the full support of the SSC in organising MUN next year. The Secretary General will be able to attend EXCOM meetings in the run up to the events, brief us on progress and ask for specific support with specific tasks. Everybody will help at that time and titles are not important - only to get the work done.

There are two Communication Officers, who will communicate the message throughout the school.

In practical terms, each Excom Officer will have the power to request that the Teacher Mentor set up an action team of students working with them. They can nominate students who if the EXcom agree and the teacher mentor concurs will become a team for say, Communications, Finance, House, CAS etc 
As the Excom will be elected only within Grade X1, we may have a special meeting of Gr X1 students one day this week or we may include them in the whole school assembly  -but there may be too many for that - I have to wait and see how many candidates we have -
it's a question of how much time we would have the whole school listening to speeches when only Gr X1 can actually vote for Excom.

  Students who have special skills but do not run for election can approach the Excom or me to be included in the action team working with any officer -after the election!  Regarding voting I will discuss the practicalities with Mr Gardner, to enable a smooth election without disrupting teaching and learning but most likely for Friday 3rd February.
Mr C

Student Council Election - do's and don'ts

• Hi everyone. I will collect nomination forms on Friday and submit them to Mr Gardner for his signature. Please see me after school on Friday to confirm that your nomination has been approved .On Sunday I will publish a list of candidates for the various positions on this blog.Students are encouraged to prepare A4 size posters over the weekend which can then go up on notice boards around the school after your nomination has been signed by Mr Gardner. 
• There will be a whole school assembly next week for the Presidential Candidates to address all students (except Grade X12 who are very busy right now).
• I hope we can hold the election by Friday 3rd February. 
• Canvassing: concentrate on your leadership skills and organisational skills when you seek to persuade students to vote for you. YOU cannot promise the sun, moon and stars - say what you can offer in terms of the position and do not criticise other candidates - just state your own positives. We want to keep it friendly and be able to work together no matter who emerges as the winner for each post. Please do not use inducements in or out of school to sway voters, expensive treats, gifts etc However, you may use leaflets, youtube and tee shirts to promote your campaign.
• Keep our school tidy, use only the noticeboards, do not stick stuff on doors or walls and you will be responsible for removing your posters once the election is over.
• Elections generate excitement and that is natural but please do stay on task in lesson time and canvass support during break and lunch.
• Please do have fun with the process, keep a sense of proportion and fair play, do not say or do anything dishonourable and treat the process as fun and a learning experience. If you are not elected it's not a personal rejection of you, there is always the 'unexpected' in life - and elections always contain some surprises. By standing in the election, you help us develop a student voice in the school and that is actually more important than wining or losing. - Mr C

Student Council Introduction

10 Things - Student Council Video

Student Council Elections: Positions to fill

"Election" - Trailer

Watchmen Spoof - Pine Creek Stuco Campaign Video - Christof

Pine Creek Student Council Officer Election Video

The best 8th grade president speech

High school student council speech

THIS FORM IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY - HARDCOPY FORMS WILL BE ISSUED IN SCHOOL - THANK YOU.

EXCOM Student Council Nomination Form

BD SOMANI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL MUMBAI

I, (Print your name and Grade here)  

______________________________, hereby declare that I am seeking

the EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF ______________________________

IF ELECTED I SOLEMNLY PROMISE TO WORK DILIGENTLY ON BEHALF OF TH E AIMS OF THE STUDENT COUNCIL and EXCOM.

_______________________________

Candidate's Signature

 

Endorsing my candidacy are the 10 students whose signatures appear below. These students may only endorse one candidate for each position.

1. ____________________________
2. ____________________________
3. ____________________________
4. ____________________________
5. ____________________________
6. ____________________________
7. ____________________________
8. ____________________________
9. ____________________________
10. ____________________________

FORM TUROR ENDORSEMENT AND SIGNATURE_______________________

SSC TEACHER MENTOR SIGNATURE_______________________

PRINCIPAL’S SIGNATURE______________________

the human face - beauty 1\6

Mr. C.'s IB English Blog: AudioSlave- Be Yourself Lyrics - rely on yourself,...

Mr. C.'s IB English Blog: AudioSlave- Be Yourself Lyrics - rely on yourself,...: EXISTENTIALISM suggests that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeli...

Discovery-Great Books George Orwell's 1984 - 1

Discovery-Great Books George Orwell's 1984 - 1

Howard Gardner of The Multiple Intelligence Theory

Example of knowledge claim - starve a cold, feed a fever or not? - New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/13/health/13real.html

TOK ESSAYS - exploring the ways of knowing rather than persuading the reader

NOTE - TOK ESSAYS  are not primarily about persuading the reader/examiner to accept your personal argument on an issue. There may be elements of persuasion but they are primarily an exploration and discussion of the ways of knowing about the argument.

The rubric or assessment guide for TOK essays is the only marking scheme available to examiners. No matter how fluently or elegantly composed, an essay which does not reflect your self-awareness as IB Learner will find it difficult to score above a B grade. SO READ THE MARKING RUBRIC AND MARK YOUR OWN ESSAY AND SATISFY YOURSELF THAT YOU HAVE ADDRESSED ALL THE CRITIERIA - YOU CAN ONLY GET MARKS UNDER THESE HEADINGS - not for general interest or other non-Tok aspects.

You can demonstrate that you are self-aware in a number of ways:

·         You use the vocabulary of the contemporary academic discourse!

·         You at least reference the text book examples relating to the title and your AOK and WOK. Also you should be able to show evidence of wider reading, Chomsky, Stephen Pinker, Richard Dawkins, Karen Armstrong, Salman Rushdie etc  A few references to great minds of past and present which are rooted in your title and seamlessly integrated into the essay is a good model for the essay. The TOK essay reveals those students who have studied the IB Learner Profile and grown in self-awareness as their essay contains a strong personal voice linked to their own perspectives on knowledge.

·         You recognise that some or all of the 6 Areas of Knowledge may be considered social and cultural constructs. (History –‘ a fable agreed upon’ Napoleon)

·         You realise that some areas of knowledge involve emotion as a way of knowing (religion, politics, history for example) and that a critical thinker must use logic to balance the search for knowledge

·         You realise that language can contain bias and condition our thinking – (enhanced interrogation techniques versus torture) The feelings engendered by these terms are quite different and colour our reactions to the matters being discussed

YOU ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT KNOWLEDGE (the 6 Areas of Knowledge)  CAN BE A CULTURAL CONSTRUCT WHICH FITS WITH THE NARRATIVE OF YOUR CLASS, GENDER, AGE, NATIONALITY, RACE, RELIGION ETC
YOUR STATUS AS AN IB LEARNER MEANS THAT YOU APPLY THE IB LEARNER PROFILE TO YOUR KNOWLEDGE ISSUES USING CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS TO UNPACK AND DECONSTRUCT THE KNOWLEDGE ISSUES.

CLASSIC EXAMPLE of Knowledge Issue: “Was the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki ethically justified or was it in fact a war crime?” Discuss claims and counterclaims etc

*YOUR ESSAY MUST CONTAIN THESE TOK TERMS OR YOU MAY FIND IT DIFFICULT TO SCORE GRADE A - IT IS THAT SIMPLE.*

TOK DEMANDS A SMALL BUT SPECIFIC SET OF WORDS INTEGRATED INTO THE ESSAY TO FIT WITH THE RUBRIC.

TOK ESSAY *CHECKLIST* -AREAS OF KNOWLEDGE - WAYS OF KNOWING - KNOWLEDGE ISSUES - KNOWLEDGE CLAIMS- COUNTERCLAIMS TO THE ORIGINAL CLAIMS - MY OWN KNOWER'S PERSPECTIVE MAY BE INFLUENCED BY ........

Suggested:
ONE OR TWO SHORT OPENING PARAGRAPH(S) WHICH STATE/S THE AREAS OF KNOWLEDGE/THE WAYS OF KNOWING/ and rephrases the title in a way that demonstrates that the student understands the title and signposts the overall plan of the essay

 MAIN BODY - THE HOYE SAMPLE ESSAY PLAN - Each paragraph opens with a phrase like - It can be argued..... or ....... The evidence suggest......that
ا

* knowledge claim
* can be made for the ideas........

Then an example-
Then a counter claim in the same paragraph or a short new paragraph with the counterclaim.

*
KNOWER'S PERSPECTIVE *
Students might begin a special paragraph with a* variation* of this idea - "When I reflect on this title, I am aware that many factors in my own upbringing may cause cultural bias in my way of knowing about this subject. We are all influenced by factors such as family values, national identity, race, gender, age and religion. So I must accept that different ways of looking at the world exist and that as an IB Learner, I must appreciate that others may hold different views to my own but also hold them passionately for example in India, there are many religions and we live in mutual respect though each one has strong taboos on certain foods...... The important factor in a globalised economic  community is patience as we work at understanding each others’ points of view.....

Earth's rarest and ancient fossils - BBC

Daniel Tammet: Different ways of knowing

'The Visitor' Trailer - recommended for IB students

Timbuktu: Recapturing the Wisdom and History of a Region

Sorry I missed the lecture in Colaba

Hi Students - so sorry I did not make it as many Grade X 12 students turned up in Room 9 for help with their final TOK presentations and essays. I could not say no to them. They were eager for advice and I did not finish with them until 6pm. So sorry as I wanted to enjoy the experience of the lecture with you all. Please post here and let me know if it was good. Thanks.

iPod Magician - Marco Tempest

CNN: Are asian students smarter?

Terry Eagleton - The God Debate

Interview about 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics

Susan Blackmore on Alan Wallace - the brain and consciousness

Dr Susan Blackmore - will speak at Homi Bhabha Auditorium Friday 13th 5.15pm -free admission

Dr Steven Pinker - Language as a Window into Human Nature

Curiosity with Stephen Hawking, Did God Create the Universe?