Pupil Council

Pupils in St. Mark’s have a say in school decision making through their "Pupil Council". Each school year two children from every P1-P7 class, are elected by their classmates to represent the class on the council. representatives meet monthly with a teacher mentor to discuss issues raised by their classmates and express ideas and opinions. Each meeting has an agenda and minutes are taken. Pupil Council representatives are responsible for reporting back to classmates after each meeting.  We also have an Eco-committee, with representatives from every stage.

There are two boxes in the hall into which children can put suggestions or concerns. Letters can be anonymous if a pupil would rather not be names.

Buddies

St. Mark’s ethos is one of care, tolerance and respect for others. One way in which pupils are involved in this is through "buddying". This involves pairing P7 children with P2 and P6 children with P1. Throughout the year there are opportunities for buddies to get together and help each other.

Peer mediation is a service now available to all children in St. Mark’s. Twelve P7 children have been trained in mediation skills and provide an additional support system for pupils. Children can ask mediators for help if they fall out with their friends, feel left out or are worried about something. Mediators will help pupils to find mutually acceptable solutions to problems without blaming or judging others. The school porch was decorated and furnished by the P.T.A. for this purpose. The service is voluntary and each mediator has the support of an adult mentor. As well as helping others, mediators benefit by developing the interpersonal skills essential for the future.

Junior Road Safety Officers

We have two new Junior Road Safety Officers and they are Caitlin  and Alicia, and they were really keen to do this job! So far, they have had a meeting with the Chief Road Safety Officer, David Henderson and he gave them some advice on how to do the job. They both received a JRSO handbook to help them plan out their ideas each term.  The girls also have their own notice board where they can put up any road safety information that they think we should know about.  Most recently, the girls had the difficult task of judging the entries for the Road Safety Calendar Competition. It was a tough job as there were so many excellent posters!  They will be presenting at assembly soon to warn everyone of the dangers on the roads during winter.

Playzone Buddies

What is Playzone?     ‘Playzone’ is playground activities involving Primary 6 children sharing their skills, energy and experience with Primaries 1 and 2.

The Process!   At the end of Primary 5 the children are invited to apply for the position of Playzone Buddy in Primary 6. Applications are submitted, sorted, allocated and training begins.

Playzone Qualities!   Enthusiasm! Energy! Active! A sense of fun!

The Job!   Playzone buddies encourage and enable the younger children to enjoy playtime to the full using ‘The Playzone Pack’ and their own games which they have been playing for years, with the support of their mentor, Mrs Muirhead and the other playground staff.

Training!   During our training sessions we reinforce all aspects of Playzone including:

• the role of the Playzone Buddy,

• safety,

• the use of game cards,

• equipment

• and of course playing games!

On completing training each Buddy receives a certificate, a badge and a cap which makes them highly visible when playing in the playground.

Our Playzone Buddies are doing a great job. Keep up the good work:

Nicole  & Christie ,

Alyson  & D’Arcie,

Caitlin , Alicia  & Annie ,

Rachel  & Rhian ,

Brian  & Jack ,

Iain  & Lee ,

Olivia  & Sarah ,

Kristopher  & Jason ,

Andrew , Nee-Cole  & Erin ,

Lauren , Zoe  & Ciara .