As students begin to fall back into their school routines and after school regimes, Student Council has been working hard behind the scenes to ensure that this year at Garneau will be the best one yet.

To kick-start this year, class representatives and the executives of our Student Activity Council gathered after school today in the library for their very first meeting. Class representatives are advocates for their classes, and hold the responsibility and power to voice their peers’ opinions. They are an integral part to our school community, as they are the liaison between student council and the student body.

As everyone settled into their seats and prepared for the impending meeting, president Soheil Koushan and vice president Yanxiu Wu prepared to present an overview of the meeting. Yanxiu, or as many may call him, Wu, dismissed the clapping after he introduced himself–“It’s absolutely unnecessary,” he said, as they are all a part of student council, and therefore on an even playing field. The mood in the room seemed to lighten substantially. Everybody settled into their seats more comfortably and at ease. Rather than an intimidating room full of strangers, this was a friendly room of colleagues. Wu began to talk about his journey through student politics and how he got to where he is today. After being elected as a class representative, he took an interest with student politics, and began to get involved in many things related to student government. Two years later, he now speaks proudly as the vice president of Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute’s S.A.C., and an active member of various groups representing the Toronto District School Board.

But being a class representative is more than just monthly meetings, reporting about events that have occurred, and voicing out suggestions from their peers. Students also get involved in the organizational level of various events that occur throughout the school year. For instance, sign ups were held for Spirit Week, Christmas Show, International Show, Equity and Social Justice Committee, and the Prom Committee.  All of the above are essential in creating a diverse and interesting high school setting, one full of opportunities to socialize, take a break from academics, and simply enjoy being a kid in high school. Students at Marc Garneau will soon have the opportunity to join these committees, so stay posted!

Eventually, class representatives were broken into smaller groups. An icebreaker in the form of the classic game, “broken telephone”, took place. The importance of communication and teamwork was displayed through laughing at how “please turn right at Overlea Blvd.” turned into “you turn on my light”. After this, “class reps” presented suggestions for various improvements that could be implemented this year to make Garneau better. Unsurprisingly, bringing back chocolate milk was discussed- but only time will tell.

It’s tough to get any school running smoothly. But with the hard work of everyone on our Student Activity Council, it will certainly be a year of adventure. Who knows? Perhaps chocolate milk will make a come back. In the meantime, cheers to an amazing year of changes for the better, wonderful events, and getting our voices heard!