STUDENT COUNCIL
student The Student Council is finally in full swing, chaired this year by Bashar Dahdah and Nipun Wickramasundara. We have already held two meetings in the impressive new conference room, and have been very pleased with the input from the student representatives throughout the school.

The students now have a chance to voice their own opinions to the Council, in order to improve the overall school experience at Doha College. The meetings should also teach the students about democracy and leadership, as we plan to engage in some informal debate regarding key issues.
After our first introductory meeting, the Student Council got straight down to business. The main focus of our first discussion was school uniform. I'm glad to say that plenty of points were raised, some of which I had never realised before! Following various issues regarding pockets, logos, colour and comfort, the discussion turned to the number of non-uniform days. The majority of the student representatives liked the ideas of themed days, rather than just normal clothing. This would help raise more money for charity, as well as awareness about the theme itself, such as breast cancer on Pink Day.
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Several other topics were touched on as well. Some Sixth Formers suggested that a bell and a clock be placed in the Common room, although the rest feared that they would no longer have an excuse to be late to class! Most students were concerned with new smaller water bottles, and so Mr. Hunter informed us that prices were pre-determined, but this decision was actually aimed at reducing waste.

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In light of the recent H1N1 flu outbreak, hygiene has been a major concern. One student rightly proposed that instead of drinking water taps, fountains which spray water upwards should be put into use. As an English teacher, Ms Cortazzi was delighted to hear that some sixth formers wanted to create a regular student-led newsletter.

It was clear from our first meeting that the students showed great interest in bringing about change in Doha College. The representatives were eager to make suggestions and evidently had clever ideas. By the end of this academic year (and many more to come), we hope to see their ideas come to life. For those of you who do not know this, it was actually a past DC Student Council that proposed the large, new building standing here today. I believe that our team this year is capable of making many more major decisions, and we look forward to a productive and rewarding year.

Bashar Dahdah and Nipun Wickramasundara