Being a part of the Student Council is already guaranteed to give you a new set of responsibilities. Some of us, if not a lot of us, may question how these officers have been able to manage their time so wisely or what the students think about being a part of such an important organisation. Our team from the ACG Times was able to interview the four prefects from Year 12 (Lina Hutchinson, Najma Marwan, Isabel Ten Have and Danujati Yulianto) to share their endeavours within the Student Council.
Firstly, we asked our prefects how they balance their time, what with their school assignments and their student council duties. Najma says that she usually does her student council work in school and spends the chief of her time at home or during the weekend doing her homework. Lina makes an afternoon schedule for the things she has to get done, and although she admits she doesn’t always stick to her schedule, she claims that it does help her organize the time she spends on each task better. Isabel says that she can have time focusing on her studies because she can delegate some of her work to the younger students; she adds on that delegating some of her tasks was also a good practice for being a leader and for dividing responsibilities in the future, when she will be in a working environment. Danu admits that he still has a hard time with balancing his time and that he’s still getting accustomed to it. He says that he dedicates certain days of the week for his student council work and that he breaks down big events into mini assignments for himself every week to avoid being overwhelmed.
Next, we asked about the best support they’ve received from the teachers, the principal and the students that help them succeed with the programs. Danu says that the other student council members have been extremely supportive and reliable with getting the job done. Lina thinks that the best support for her have been from the teachers; she’s grateful for the approval of their proposals and for the opportunities to have more student-lead events. She appreciates having the teachers allow them to make their own decisions, but also how they step in when the student council needs help. Najma is also grateful for the support of the teachers. She thinks that the best support for them is when the teachers are willing to help and give them advice. Isabel is also thankful for the teachers, especially the two teacher supervisors for the student council, Ms Pickering and Mr Wahid. She tells us that they are the student council’s method of communication with the rest of the staff, which is really helpful when they need more members to aid in organising events. Besides them, she says that other teachers are always available for meetings or through emails and that their contribution is very effective in getting things one.
Our third question was regarding their thoughts on how they think our student council differs from other schools’ student organisations. Lina says that they are different because they are constantly trying to come up with new ideas to change things about the school for the better. They make it their mission to come up with new opportunities while being sure that it can be student-led with minimum involvement from staff at our school. Isabel believes that their engagement of the entire student body is what makes them different. With this, she refers to students outside of the student council, as well, such as the students who are willing to help with the student council events or the students who join different committees, such as the Eco-Warriors. She says that their ability as a council to reach out and really include everyone helps emphasise the feeling of whole-ness and together-ness. Najma thinks that the student council stands out because of their mutual value of solidarity and connection between each member to achieve the same goal. Above that, she thinks that the way the student council members give equal opportunities without overpowering each other is what makes them unique. Danu likes how they try to incorporate a family feeling and be as inclusive as possible, unlike other schools.
We then asked them about their favourite thing about being a part of the student council or their most memorable event with their fellow members. Isabel’s favourite thing about being a part of the organisation is seeing the younger members try to interact with each other, as well as with other members in the community. She thinks it gratifying to see how the student council can make such a difference in the community and she likes seeing other people enjoy their work. Najma’s favourite thing is to discuss and brainstorm about the possibilities for their future programs and her most memorable moment is when she dressed up with her peers. Danu’s favourite event was the Secret Delivery; he thought it was fun to see the kids’ reactions when Mr Wahid was cosplaying as Santa. Lina’s most memorable moment was the hectic morning before the Secret Delivery. Despite being sleep-deprived, she thought that seeing such a big group of people work together for their idea was a very special moment for her and other members of the student council. She was grateful for the good reactions they received from the student body.
Lastly, we asked for a sneak peak on future programs. They said that we should be looking forward to Spirit Week, Lock In, Battle of the Bands.
For more information on future events and updates on the student life, check out the ACG Jakarta’s Student Council instagram page.
Firstly, we asked our prefects how they balance their time, what with their school assignments and their student council duties. Najma says that she usually does her student council work in school and spends the chief of her time at home or during the weekend doing her homework. Lina makes an afternoon schedule for the things she has to get done, and although she admits she doesn’t always stick to her schedule, she claims that it does help her organize the time she spends on each task better. Isabel says that she can have time focusing on her studies because she can delegate some of her work to the younger students; she adds on that delegating some of her tasks was also a good practice for being a leader and for dividing responsibilities in the future, when she will be in a working environment. Danu admits that he still has a hard time with balancing his time and that he’s still getting accustomed to it. He says that he dedicates certain days of the week for his student council work and that he breaks down big events into mini assignments for himself every week to avoid being overwhelmed.
Next, we asked about the best support they’ve received from the teachers, the principal and the students that help them succeed with the programs. Danu says that the other student council members have been extremely supportive and reliable with getting the job done. Lina thinks that the best support for her have been from the teachers; she’s grateful for the approval of their proposals and for the opportunities to have more student-lead events. She appreciates having the teachers allow them to make their own decisions, but also how they step in when the student council needs help. Najma is also grateful for the support of the teachers. She thinks that the best support for them is when the teachers are willing to help and give them advice. Isabel is also thankful for the teachers, especially the two teacher supervisors for the student council, Ms Pickering and Mr Wahid. She tells us that they are the student council’s method of communication with the rest of the staff, which is really helpful when they need more members to aid in organising events. Besides them, she says that other teachers are always available for meetings or through emails and that their contribution is very effective in getting things one.
Our third question was regarding their thoughts on how they think our student council differs from other schools’ student organisations. Lina says that they are different because they are constantly trying to come up with new ideas to change things about the school for the better. They make it their mission to come up with new opportunities while being sure that it can be student-led with minimum involvement from staff at our school. Isabel believes that their engagement of the entire student body is what makes them different. With this, she refers to students outside of the student council, as well, such as the students who are willing to help with the student council events or the students who join different committees, such as the Eco-Warriors. She says that their ability as a council to reach out and really include everyone helps emphasise the feeling of whole-ness and together-ness. Najma thinks that the student council stands out because of their mutual value of solidarity and connection between each member to achieve the same goal. Above that, she thinks that the way the student council members give equal opportunities without overpowering each other is what makes them unique. Danu likes how they try to incorporate a family feeling and be as inclusive as possible, unlike other schools.
We then asked them about their favourite thing about being a part of the student council or their most memorable event with their fellow members. Isabel’s favourite thing about being a part of the organisation is seeing the younger members try to interact with each other, as well as with other members in the community. She thinks it gratifying to see how the student council can make such a difference in the community and she likes seeing other people enjoy their work. Najma’s favourite thing is to discuss and brainstorm about the possibilities for their future programs and her most memorable moment is when she dressed up with her peers. Danu’s favourite event was the Secret Delivery; he thought it was fun to see the kids’ reactions when Mr Wahid was cosplaying as Santa. Lina’s most memorable moment was the hectic morning before the Secret Delivery. Despite being sleep-deprived, she thought that seeing such a big group of people work together for their idea was a very special moment for her and other members of the student council. She was grateful for the good reactions they received from the student body.
Lastly, we asked for a sneak peak on future programs. They said that we should be looking forward to Spirit Week, Lock In, Battle of the Bands.
For more information on future events and updates on the student life, check out the ACG Jakarta’s Student Council instagram page.