Our Student Council was established in 2002 and is currently thriving in 2024! The aim of the council is to provide our pupils with a forum to discuss the needs and concerns of all the pupils within the school. Participation in the Student Council is also an opportunity for our young children to contribute positively to the school and encourage their self confidence and sense of responsibility.
Currently there are 23 members on the council who are supported by a teacher representative, Mrs Anderson. Each Student Councillor must be elected and represent the views of their class. They are expected to attend the fortnightly meetings and be a good role model to their peers.
Our Student Councillors host the Macmillan Coffee Morning in aid of Cancer research every September. To date over £38,000 has been raised through the generosity of our teachers, parents and the local community.
Each December the Student council issues a letter to the parents on behalf of what ever local charity they are sponsoring. For 2024 the council will be organising a collection for the local food bank ‘Foodstock’. Each year this is a great success and the parents and families never fail to amaze us with their generosity.
Additionally in 2016–17 the council achieved the Rights Respecting School’s award which will ensure that St Teresa’s is a Rights Respecting School. The school continues to maintain this award.
The council have also been busy organising new ‘Play Ground Games’ for the school by selecting and organising play equipment for break and lunch times.
Each year the student council visit the Belfast City Council to learn how councils work and to meet the current Lord Mayor of Belfast.
In 2018 the council also met with the principal and vice principals of Shefing Foreign Language school in Hunan Province in China. Later in 2021/22 the student council also has formed a link with Joseph High School in Katmandu, Nepal as part of the British Council’s Connecting Classrooms project.
Also this year, the council will also focus their efforts on developing a child friendly version of the school development plan which will be published later this year as well as a host of other planned events.
This year the student council created a child friendly version of the new School Development Plan. You can read this by clicking the link below: