The Student School Councils at the British School in Tokyo play an important role in school life, and have made considerable charitable donations over the last few months.
At the start of each year, two students from each class — Year 1 to Year 11 — are elected by other pupils and are required to attend monthly meetings and publish agendas. The councils discuss issues raised by students or by teachers, approve action plans, and then send recommendations to the school Senior Leadership Team for consideration and action.
Past councils have been responsible for creating a recycling program, organizing school discos, and choosing a school charity to support. In the last few months, the councils have worked really hard to raise money for charities both at home and overseas. The Shibuya Primary council had a senbei snack sale and raised over ¥20,000 for their chosen charity, ARK, which has been rescuing pets from the region affected by the March 11 earthquake. The Secondary Student Council raised a fantastic ¥137,815 for the Tabitha Foundation, which manages house-building projects in Cambodia.
The new student councils will be elected in September and are open to all students. The school is looking forward to hearing about what new and exciting projects they will get involved with this year.
The British School in Tokyo is a co-educational international school providing early learning to A level education. The school follows the English National Curriculum. For more information, please see http://www.bst.ac.jp. — NANCY JENKINS
