Westside High School
Student Council
Chain of Command
And Organizational Structures
Student Council Objectives
*Provide a democratic forum in which students can address school-related issues affecting
their lives.
*Maintain a continuous communication channel from the students to both the faculty and
administration, as well as among other students within the school.
*Offer a yearlong program of social functions and community involvement projects for
students.
*Train students in duties and responsibilities of good citizenship, using the school
environment as the primary training ground.
All Student Council members are expected to:
Attend monthly General Meetings and actively participate in meetings and
attend/support STUCO events
Follow Code of Conduct, abide by Student Honor Code and lead by example
Obtain a minimum of 20 service hours annually (these hours are reported class level
secretary.) Officer candidates for the following year must meet at least 30 hours of
service. These hours must be school leadership activities or activities conducted to
benefit the majority of Westside Students (weekday field trips for class assignments do
not count however weekend activities that benefit the student body will be considered.)
Maintain UIL eligibility and have satisfactory attendance (fewer than 10).
Principal
Sponsor Coordinator
And
Class Sponsors
Administrative Advisors
Student Body Officers
Elected by the WHS Student Body
Student Council Class
Presidents
Elected by Grade Level
Student Council
Representatives
Student Council Class Officers
Student Council Committee Chairs
Students volunteer for leadership
positions during class meetings
throughout the year. If needed the class
reps vote for candidates
Student Council Sub-Committee Chairs
Student Council Committee Members
Student Council Body of Representatives
Westside Student Body
Nominated and Elected by Peers
Sub-Committee Members (can be all
grade levels)
Member Responsibilities
Principal, Administrative Advisors, Class Sponsors – Provide leadership and direction for student members.
Student Body Officers: Work with class level leaders, sponsors and school administration to create a cohesive and unified
Student Council Organization . Represent the values and integrity of the Westside Way in all encounters. Exemplify the best
that Westside has to offer.
Student Body President: Develops agenda and presides over Executive Board meetings (as needed) and monthly STUCO
meeting; represents the student body at school wide functions and in the community; works closely with Principal, PTO, STUCO
Coordinator, Class Sponsors and Class Presidents on school wide issues, has the option of participating in grade level meetings as
they deem necessary, creates a visible presence at most of the activities, fundraisers, community service projects conducted by
their class members. (One Senior Only)
Student Body Vice President: Represents the student body at school district, civic events, and other meetings requested by the
president; Coordinates Committee work; Presides over the full school student council meetings in the absence of the president;
Meets with helps to direct the work of the Vice Presidents in the class level structure. (One Senior Only)
Student Body Secretary/ Parlimentarian: Maintains the student body files; prepares agendas for the meetings; takes and
distributes meeting minutes; represents the student body at school district, civic events, and other meetings requested by the
president; Types materials for the student body officers and chairpersons as needed; Provide advice on questions of
parliamentary procedures. (One Junior Only)
Student Body Treasurer: Coordinates the preparation of the annual budget; Presents the proposed budget for student council
adoption; maintains the financial records of the student council; Assists the Class Fundraising VP’s as needed; Coordinate all
fundraising activities with student council sponsors and members; Sign all purchase orders. (One Junior Only)
Student Body Reporter/Historian: Write, edit, and submit stories about the Council to the school paper, yearbook and media.
Organize publicity of events throughout all levels of student council; Gather materials in preparation for the Student Council
Scrapbook; Maintain files of materials about activities of the school for future reference; arrange for pictures from all Student
Council Events; (One Junior or One Senior Only)
Member Responsibilities
Class President: (If possible, this office should be a co-president position)/ Develops agenda and presides over class
meetings; represents the class at Executive Board and at STUCO meetings; shares information from class to governing
body and vice versa; represents the class at school functions as requested; works closely with Class Sponsor, Student
Body President and Principal on school wide issues; creates a visible presence at all the activities, fundraisers,
community service projects conducted by their class; pre-approves all announcements, emails, and newspaper
articles regarding class activities, fundraising, and community service prior to the final approval of the sponsor. This
commitment requires many hours on and off campus working before school, after school and during lunches with
many stakeholders.
Class VP Activities (If possible, this office should be a co-VP position) Gathers input and makes recommendations for
class participation in Prom, homecoming, spring fling, etc…; takes the lead in carrying out assignments for these
activities; reports at STUCO Meetings and gathers volunteers from general membership as needed; provides publicity
information as needed (including having pictures taken at the event and writing up general announcements,
newspaper articles and mass emails - to be pre-approved by class president); creates a visible STUCO presence at all
the activities conducted by their class. This commitment requires many hours on and off campus working before
school, after school and during lunches.
Class VP Fundraising (co-VP optional) Gathers input and makes recommendations for one class fundraiser; takes the
lead in organizing the fundraiser and solicits committee members and/or parent support if needed; creates a visible
STUCO presence a the fundraisers conducted by their class; meets with Mrs. Neal and sponsor to discuss fundraiser
timelines and requirements; assists sponsor in completion of fundraising paperwork; reports at STUCO Meetings
(status and results); provides publicity information as needed (including having pictures taken at the event, writing up
general announcements, newspaper articles and mass emails - to be pre-approved by class president and student
body council).
Member Responsibilities
Class VP Community Service(co-VP optional) Gathers input and makes recommendations for class and/or school wide
community service projects; serves as the primary contact/liaison when working with outside organizations (food
bank, homeless shelter, etc…); creates a visible STUCO presence a the service projects conducted by their class;
responsible for class participation; provides publicity information as needed (including having pictures taken at the
event and writing up general announcements, newspaper articles and mass emails - to be pre-approved by class
president and student body reporter).
Class Secretary-Records (If possible, this office should be a co-president position) Records minutes of all meetings
and emails those minutes to the Student Body Secretary; keeps records of all class activities (including fundraisers
and community service projects) in binder; keeps record of student service hours and submits those updated hours to
the president every semester; provides information for class web page/FACEBOOK; sends out announcements and
communication to class members via email and text messages after they are approved by the Student Body Reporter.
This office requires many hours of service, often working at home on the computer and attending all meetings for the
class and student body.
Student Council Representatives: Represent their class and the student body at monthly general meetings;
participate fully in student government; serve on committees for STUCO activities, events and projects; may be asked
to co-chair a specific event with a VP or take on additional leadership roles.
Duties of Committee Chairs, Sub-Committee Chairs and SubCommittee Secretaries/Recorders
Committees and Sub-Committees : vote on a Chairperson to work as a leader and organizer for meetings
conducted as a group and to make sure that timelines for work product are being met.
The “Chair” will organize meeting times and locations for their group. They will confirm those times and places
with the Class VP of Activities, VP of Community Service, or VP of Fundraising who will send it to the advertising
committee to be published in multiple locations online, around the school and in the announcements. Please
note that to make the school announcements these must be approved and submitted to the Student Body
Reporter at least 5 days in advance. “Emergency” announcements can only be approved and submitted by the
class sponsor.
The Chairperson: Will create agendas to be handed out a each meeting explaining what goals were accomplished
since the last meeting, and what goals are going to be accomplished by the end of the current meeting. They may
email them to the sponsor in advance to be printed for the meeting. They will send an electronic copy to their
committee/sub-committee secretary. The class sponsor should work with them to create the first meeting agenda
(to get them started). The Chairperson will also collect contact information from the members of their committee,
the VP of Activities, VP of Community Service, or VP of Fundraising (dependant upon the activity) as well as the
class sponsor so that they can be in contact outside of meetings. The Chairperson will update the Homecoming
Committee at the bi-weekly meetings on the progress of their group and any concerns or challenges they may be
facing. The Chairperson will contact the VP of their project and/or the Class Sponsor with any urgent matters and
consult them on “emergency” decisions to obtain approval (last minute changes in meeting times, or event plans
that have already obtained approval).
The Secretary/Recorder: (for that Committee/Sub-Committee): will be responsible for taking notes during all of
their meetings. If they cannot attend a meeting it is their responsibility to communicate this to the Chair and find
a member of the group to fulfill their tasks. They will send an electronic (emailed) copy of the meeting
attendance, minutes and the agenda to the Class Secretary, the Class VP of their project, the Advertising
Committee Chair, and all class sponsors (including the Dean of Instruction – Mrs. Lambropoulos). This is essential
since we must all work together to make each event a success.