1. AIMS

 

1.1        The ASA is set up by students, and run by students, facilitated by a liaison teacher.

 

1.2        Its role is to have active input into school policy in order to create a more beneficial and student-friendly school, and to contribute in a practical manner to preparing and engaging in school activities such as; Open Night, Prize-giving, 7^th Year Formal, Sports Day, 1^st Year Induction, Fundraising.

 

1.3        To co-operate with staff, working together for the welfare of every student in the school with the use of the Student Representatives, Senior Council and President.

 

1.4        The ASA is an association of which every student is a member.

 

1.5        In order to protect students and staff, acceptable business at any ASA meeting will not include the discussion of named individuals, or specific individual student, teacher or parent grievances.

 

 

2.   SENIOR COUNCIL

 

2.1        The Senior Council are the leaders of the Abbey Students’ Association and must do justice to their duty to be good role models for the student body.

 

2.2        (a)     The Senior Council is made up of nine members, six of whom are from seventh year and three from sixth year (see election process).

        (b)       The three sixth year members give sixth years, as seniors, a direct voice on the council.

 

2.3        One of the council’s roles is to embrace the reasonable concerns, desires and ideas of all students and channel them into proposals to be discussed with SMT.

 

2.4        The Senior Council will meet at least once a week in a designated meeting room.

 

2.5        There will be a liaison teacher appointed to the Council.  This teacher will be in attendance at all ASA Meetings.

 

2.6        (a)     Information from SMT meetings relating to all changes directly affecting students will be available to the Senior Council via the liaison teacher and dealt with confidentially by the Council.

        (b)     The Senior Council will meet with SMT and the Principal at least twice every term.

 

2.7        The President of the ASA is elected as described in Section 5.

 

2.8        The Council will internally appoint members to the posts of Secretary, PRO, Common Room Officer and two Formal Officers. The three Sixth Year members and President cannot hold any of these posts.

 

2.9        The Council should internally appoint one member to liaise with each year of Student Representatives. The three Sixth year members are exempt from this.

 

2.10   Any member of the Council including the President can be voted off at any time if six members are in favour. In this case the election results must be consulted again, the next highest position in the voting deciding the new member.

Note:  For a Sixth year member to be voted off, the six votes in favour must include another Sixth year member.

 

2.11   Each new member elected must sign the constitution.

 

2.12   IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SENIOR COUNCIL TO ENSURE THE CONSTITUTION IS PROTECTED AND UPHELD.  IT IS ALSO THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO IMPLEMENT IT IN FULL AND CARRY OUT THE ELECTION PROCESS FOR THE SUCCEEDING SENIOR COUNCIL.    

 

2.13   Council members in their roles as representatives of the student body are expected to be good role models.  The principal reserves the right to approach the Senior Council with a view to removing from office any member seriously failing in this regard.

 

2.14   Senior Council may co-opt onto their body students who can contribute a skill desired at any particular time.  Those co-opted will not have voting rights on Senior Council.

 

2.15   The Senior Council will be provided with leadership skills training and team development early 1^st term.

 

 

3.   STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES

 

3.1        Each class from First to Fifth year should vote for two classmates to be their Student Representatives.

 

3.2        It is the role of these Representatives to listen to the concerns, desires and ideas of their classmates and put them forward to the Senior Council.

 

3.3        All Representatives for each year should meet with their Senior Council member every two months.

 

3.4        The full group of fifty representatives from 1^st to 5^th Year will meet with the whole Senior Council every term.

 

3.5        Student representatives are expected to be good role models for their fellow pupils.  The Principal reserves the right to approach the Senior Council with a view to removing any representative seriously failing in this regard.

 

 

4.     ASA PRESIDENT

 

4.1        The President is elected by Sixth and Seventh year as the head of the ASA and as a true students’ President (see election process).

 

4.2        (a)    It is his role to lead the ASA in the right direction, chairing Senior Council and full association representative meetings and leading the bringing of proposals to SMT.

        (b)     His role is to serve and represent, as fairly as he can, all the students of the school.

 

4.3        The President must be a Seventh Year student.

5.   ELECTION PROCESS

 

5.1        Elections to the Senior Council and the Presidency election ideally should be completed by April of the previous year, and at latest by the end of September, by which time Student Representatives will be in place.

 

5.2        Candidates for the Senior Council election should apply with three backing signatures. Students can only sign their name in backing to an application once and students applying for nomination cannot sign any other students’ application.

 

5.3        The applications and elections for Fifth and Sixth years, who are applying for the following year (Sixth and Seventh year), are separate i.e. a Fifth year cannot sign an application or vote for a Sixth year and   vice versa.

 

5.4        Once all applications have been received the candidates will be voted onto the council via an adapted system of preference voting.

(a)         Students will vote for their candidates in preference e.g. 1,2,3.

(b)        A quota for election will be decided on by the Council e.g. 12 votes depending on the number of candidates standing and the number of students voting.

(c)         The quota may vary from Fifth to Sixth year, as there are fewer positions available to Fifth years.

(d)        If a candidate reaches the quota on the first count he is elected.

(e)         If no more candidates reach the quota and there are still positions to be filled then the candidate with the lowest number of votes is eliminated and his votes are transferred to their second preferences.

(f)          If a candidate now reaches the quota then he is elected. If there are still positions to be filled the next candidate with the lowest number of votes is eliminated and his votes are transferred to their next preference. This is continued until all the positions on the council are filled. (Six for Sixth years and three for Fifth years).

 

5.5        When all the seats have been filled the first four Sixth years to reach the quota and be elected to the council will stand for the Presidency election.

 

5.6        Each candidate is obliged to give a short one-two minute speech to all of Fifth and Sixth year on why they should be President.

 

5.7        All Fifth and Sixth years vote in the election and the candidate with the most votes is elected to President and the candidate with the second highest number of votes is elected to Vice-President.

 

5.8        (a)    Each January the eight other members of the council along with the Principal of the school, making nine votes, must vote on whether to have a re-election of the presidency. If this is passed with five or more votes in favour then the same four candidates will stand again for another presidency election.

(b)    The motion of re-election can only ever be voted on by the council once.        

 

5.9        Student Representatives are elected by their form class in September on a first past the post system.

 

 

6.   AMMENDMENTS

 

6.1        The constitution will be reviewed annually, in 3^rd term, by the outgoing Senior Council in consultation with the liaison teacher and the Principal.

 

6.2        Any amendments to be made to the constitution must be agreed by seven out of the nine Council members.  Following the agreement of the Principal, all students, 1^st to 7^th Year will confirm the change by referendum.

 

7.  ULTIMATE AUTHORITY

 

7.1        All decisions agreed by the ASA/Senior Council will be seen as proposals to be presented to the Principal for his agreement.