Area Electoral Officer oversees St Joseph’s PS elections

St Joseph’s Primary School in Dunloy has added a professional element to their recent successful school council election.

Four candidates from each class P4-P7 stood for election and Mrs Rae Kirk, Area Electoral Officer for North Antrim & Mid Ulster, attended the results declaration to make the official announcements.

Mrs Kirk also rubberstamped the election process and congratulated all the candidates on the success of the event.

As head of the local election office, she also provided the school with an authentic polling booth and an official ballot box to help proceedings run on guidelines closely resembling those of a local or national election.

School councillors will now represent the voice of their classmates in regular meetings and be responsible for keeping all pupils informed of decisions taken.

In keeping with Article 12 of UNCRC- United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child- children have the right to have a say when decisions are made which affect them.

St Joseph’s is a UNICEF Rights Respecting School and staff and pupils have been actively promoting the rights of the child for a number of years. School principal Mr Damian McGuckian said, “The school council will take this good practice to a new level, pastoral care is a very high priority for us and we welcome a development which will enhance this aspect of our pupils’ daily learning experiences.”