2 replies to this topic

[SamanthaE]

The Student Government Organization: Executive Council

Thursday, January 14, 2009 3:10PM – 5:10PM

Minutes

I. Attendance

Key: [L] = Late [A] = Absent



<br style="page-break-before: auto;" clear="all"> Angelica Ahmed, SGO Speaker

<br style="page-break-before: auto;" clear="all"> [L] N. Chen, President

K. Zhang, Vice President

[L] I. Rahman, Parliamentarian

H. Abdul-Karim, Treasurer

W. Chin, Secretary





D. Shadburn, President

[L] I. Ahmad, Vice President

D. Sandfia, Parliamentarian

A. Bukhta, Treasurer

D. Alebdy, Secretary





[L] M. Gorbonosov, President

M. Hossain, Vice President

J. Chan, Parliamentarian

S. Eng, Treasurer

S. Dhaliwal, Secretary





[L] L. Wang, President

I. Cheng, Vice President

[A] S. Pazycheva, Parliamentarian

R. Chinsky, Treasurer

[L] A. Geraloglou, Secretary

<br style="page-break-before: auto;" clear="all"> II. Business

A. Updates

1. The Challenge

a. Will be held on the last Thursday of February

b. Need to reach out to faculty to coach the team

i. Hope to have 1 teacher from each department, like last time

c. There is a link of the video from the first competition on the school website

2. Library

a. On January 12^th, Michelle had a meeting with Mr. Fanning, Hector, Gavin, a student on the Tech Squad and a parent who modeled a library

i. Michelle sent us a PDF file with the new design for the library

b. Mr. Fanning wants computers and printing installed first, along the back wall

c. The idea of adding a loft to the library was not presented to Mr. Fanning yet because computers are the main priority

d. Having the electrical outlets installed is already pushing the budget

e. Michelle wants to have books chosen by the students

i. The book shelves would remain aligned against the walls

ii. Wants to have a committee meet on Thursdays on a monthly basis to work with the librarians in ordering books that appeal to the students

iii. Would be responsible for the book sales

i. Books that are not checked out regularly are sold at a discount price

iv. Student Assembly and Student Leadership members are highly encouraged to join this committee

f. This plan does not incorporate the back doors (one set of doors would not be open for entrance nor exit)

i. Need to discuss the positioning of the teacher’s station and its significance

g. Storage for the textbooks do not have many textbooks

i. Library’s system of having textbooks should be updated so that there is at least 1 copy of each textbook used by students from all grade levels

3. UNSL

a. There will be a Leadership Conference on Friday, May 14^th at the College of Staten Island

i. We are allowed to bring 25 people, including the 4 UNSL representatives from Tech

ii. We will be informed of the details soon

b. Andrew Gallagher is giving prizes for informing him of what our school does with technology so that he can report back to the DOE

i. Angelica, Nicky, Ikra and Kwame are working on a video to present what Tech would be like without teaching technology in the classroom

B. Requests

1. Oratory Contest

a. Each student must recite a speech provided to them

b. Committee is requesting $75 for prizes

i. Want to have a 1^st place prize of $50 American Express Gift Card

ii. Want to have a 2^nd prize of $25 American Express Gift Card

iii. Would provide an incentive for more students to participate because very few people choose to take part each year, as opposed to the Shakespeare Recitation Contest

c. Some publicity issues because this contest is just citywide whereas the Shakespeare Recitation Contest is a national competition

i. Need to try to get as many people as possible to participate

ii. The English teachers are being encouraged to promote this event to their students

d. Majority voted to allocate $75 to Oratory Contest

2. Office and Storage Rooms

a. During regents week, we need to come in and fix the office and storage room

b. This is not mandated

c. Storage room has a lot of unnecessary items and some useful items

i. Need to organize this room

ii. Building is running out of storage space, so it would be helpful

d. Mr. Williams will find a convenient date for this project to take place

e. Would be chaotic if we do it during the lunch periods because there are many different ideas and things will be done in different ways

f. We should also paint 7C1 one solid color

3. SLT Expectations Subcommittee

a. Goal is to inform everyone of their expectations

b. Will be drafting and revising the Parent Handbook and the Teacher Handbook

i. Would be providing input and working with the administration

ii. Would discuss what needs to be included in the handbooks

c. Meet once a month

i. Angelica will inform us of the date and time

C. Discussions

1. SGO Cards

a. Want to have an actual card

i. Would cost $0.15 per card to make 1,000 cards if we use the website’s online company

i. If we purchase 5,000+ cards, the cost would be even lower

b. 2 options were discussed in the email thread: including the swipe option or having a separate ID card for attendance

i. It was decided that the SGO card would be separate from the ID card

c. Card would not store hours and club credits, but it would have a number/car code on it

i. System would be similar to the system for grades

i. Coaches and advisors would turn in the list of names and credits earned at the end of each term

ii. Card would be a proof of paying the “student activities fee” and would be a discount card for Tech events

iii. Students would not be given credits if they don’t have a card

d. Each year, students would have to pay a fee to reactivate the card (~$2)

i. Card would become invalid on the last day of school

ii. If students lose the card, they would need to re-purchase it through the GO Store

e. Would post the information under the card number and possibly upload the information onto a forum, such as how grades are posted on Moodle, and link it to the school website

f. Wouldn’t actually need to scan the card because the number is entering the system

i. We would be digitizing the system of recording student activities information

g. Plastic card has a cleaner look and people are more likely to use it (less likely to lose it)

h. There are plenty of Tech events to promote by using discounts if students have this card

i. We are not asking for discounts from outside vendors for students with the card

ii. Could set a policy for a discount of a certain percentage off the original price of the event

i. Discuss this with the Club/Team Council

i. If the school prints these cards, then it would be more consistent because this would continue for many years

i. If we work with a company, then we might lose the contract or face pricing issues

ii. Nicky will find out the cost to produce these cards

iii. No one opposed to this idea

2. “The Senior Privilege”

a. Seniors with a certain marking period average would be able to go out for lunch

i. Proposal: must be passing physical education, have at least an 85 marking period average and only a few absences

ii. Only 200 seniors actually met these requirements

b. School safety officers accepted to explore this idea but did not agree to it

i. Their main issues are safety, attendance and cutting

ii. Suggestion to start with 95% averages, then move to 90% averages and work our way down to 85% averages

iii. Students would not be able to bring food back into the building

iv. Entering and exiting areas were discussed

i. Use the center west entrance with a CAAS system and a school aid

c. Possibly start this policy on February 2^nd

d. Community would not like this idea because there have already been complaints about students before and after school hours

i. Community would be complaining about the noise level if large numbers of students are allowed to go out

e. Area around Tech is becoming very hostile and unsafe for students

i. Safety officers want to have the safety issue addressed first (robberies, fights, etc.)

i. If students get hurt, then the school would be held liable

ii. Seniors on the committee need to revisit the proposal and address this concern first, as well as continue drafting the proposal

iii. Suggestion to open the safety meeting about the “Senior Privilege” to more SGO members about this discussion

· Students would not go that far it they are time restricted

ii. If crime is increasing in the area, then there should be more safety officers

iii. Suggestion to have a Senior Lounge with a liaison bringing food the seniors ordered from outside vendors

f. If this policy is implemented, then it would be difficult to repeal it because students would want to continue this privilege regardless of the safety issue

i. Many schools that implemented this policy regret doing it (Bronx High School of Science and Stuyvesant High School)

g. Students would have to swipe in and out when entering and exiting the school

i. If a student does not return, then the student would no longer have this privilege

3. Hope for Haiti

a. There is no competitive factor among the different school organizations to raise money for Haiti

b. Key Club proposed having a BTHS Alliance of representatives from the major groups in the building

c. We need to investigate where the funds raised by SGO should go

i. We should also look into organizations that would match our efforts

d. We could sell t-shirts with messages to raise money

i. Ikra will look into this

e. Tech’s different clubs, teams and organizations should also work together

i. On Tuesday, after 9^th period, in the teacher’s cafeteria there will be a meeting to discuss possible relief efforts

ii. Someone from each group should attend if they are interested

iii. Angelica and Ikra will represent SGO and Nicky will represent the Red Cross Club

i. Any other SGO Executive members interested in attending are welcome to

ii. It has been decided that proceeds will go towards Doctors Without Borders and Habitats for Humanity

f. Flowers for Favorites should also donate some of the proceeds to Haiti

i. We are suggesting the committee donate at least some of their profits

ii. They should decide how much to donate once they determine their profit so that they make a realistic decision

iii. Possibly extend collections to next week

i. The committee should make this decision by 3^rd period on Friday, January 15^th

g. We should have someone walk around, during lunch periods, with another donation box to collect money

h. There are donation boxes in 7C1, 1W2, 1W8 and 7S2

i. These donation boxes will be removed on January 25^th, unless we decide otherwise

III. COSA Notes

A. There is a PTA meeting about involvement in after-school activities and its benefits on February 4^th, at 7:00 PM

1. SGO is encouraged to attend to discuss this topic

2. We will be informed about the details within the next 2 weeks

B. Mr. Williams was sent a message by email a few weeks ago

1. It was about the lunch options

2. Mr. Williams will send us a message in a specific tone that we must each respond to

a. We need to think about how we respond to messages

b. This will be our “homework assignment” as a lesson about communication

3. Mr. Williams will eventually send us the responses that he sent and received

C. America’s Favorite School Contest

1. Company wanted to use information about all of the schools involved

a. The DOE refused to allow this and the delivery of the check was halted

b. The issue has been cleared and we will receive the check within the next few weeks

IV. Open Agenda

A. There will be no meeting next week due to finals week

B. There will be no CSA meeting next week due to finals week

1. Committees are encouraged to meet on their own if they would like to

C. Duwa will discuss the food issue with Ms. Deleranzo

D. Flowers for Favorites has been doing a good job

1. The money box needs to be more organized

a. We need to look into a money box that has different sections

2. We need to place the box with the order forms in a safe location so that people don’t stuff the box and not pay for their orders

E. We should write a complaint letter about safety officers patrolling the building for students lounging during school hours when they shouldn’t be

1. Disrupts many classes and other students who try to arrive to class on time

2. The letter would be addressed to Mr. Newman

F. Title I money used to fund a program to help students with college essays

1. Need to advertise this better because not many students are aware of this and the sign-up is ending soon

G. We should change the room where the meetings are held to one with better Wi-fi connection for more productive meetings

V. Adjournment

[NickC]

Just for the record, I was late to this meeting for 10 minutes because I was coming from another =P

[SamanthaE]

Mhm. No excuses Nick.