Student Council Election 2021
On the 24th of November, the Student Council once again hosted their annual elections for the new Apprentice Cabinet! The 6 elected students will be working alongside the new General Cabinet, planning projects for the student body and hosting events throughout the year.
14 students, between Year 10 and 11, went through a rigorous application process. They completed the application, got through interviews, vigorously campaigned, then crafted a speech to become a potential candidate for all students at school to vote for. Each of these candidates had to break out of their comfort zone and promote themselves, notably, most of them utilized platforms such as Instagram to campaign. The candidates all keenly promised a unique set of changes they would bring to the school community and appeal to students. ‘It was a once in a lifetime experience. I was ecstatic, exhilarated, and happy.’, says Steven Ke (11G1), the current Apprentice Secretary.
Due to the pandemic this year, the Student Council decided to host live elections via Zoom, in a drama room with a spotlight shone over the candidates as they passionately delivered their speeches. This setup was described as ‘an attempt to emulate the atmosphere of the elections before the COVID-19 restrictions’. All students watched the elections during period 4 and participated in live voting for the candidates. Despite the circumstances, the elections this year were a resounding success, with over 1,000 votes submitted! The retiring Vice-chair, Dorothy Ho (13P1) expressed, ‘The election was extremely riveting and it was the embodiment of [the Student Council’s] hard work and diligence.’
A huge congratulations to the newly elected Apprentice Cabinet:
Chair: Peony Sham (11X2)
Vice-chairs: Valerie Wong (11X1), Ray Sun (11G2)
Chief of Communications: Emma Paryani (11X2)
Treasurer: Bob Wong (10D2)
Secretary: Steven Ke (11G1)
Special Advisor: Christie Lam (11P2), Brice Cheung (11D1)
This year’s cabinet is also unique in the sense that there are two special advisors, since in previous years, the Student Council chose only one. These special advisors are chosen by the Council themselves, from the pool of candidates that did not get elected. A Student Council representative justified this decision by stating that they wished to give these candidates a chance to join the Student Council as they were thoroughly impressed by their performance throughout the weeks. Hopefully, with more students included in the Student Council, they can increase their influence on the school community!
The annual Student Council elections are an exciting event for all students to watch and participate in, and the Student Council never fails to impress us with their thorough planning. Looking forward to future projects the new Council will have, but also a farewell and thank you to the retiring cabinet members!
Written by: Michelle Geng
Edited by: Rie Du and Amelie Chin
