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Joshua Zakharov
3/16/15
SO Elections
Senior Council Pres. Candidacy
PLATFORM - SENIOR COUNCIL PRESIDENT
General Reforms and Committee Policies
Before I talk about my specific ideas for how to better senior year events, I’d like to talk about
some general reforms I want to make to improve our grade, and the other three through it.
I. Big Sibs - promote freshman connections, integration, and assurance
1. Freshmen largely feel that Big Sibs didn’t really meet often enough with them, and
weren’t too receptive to them. There are several ways to improve and repair that.
2. Meetings with Senior Council
i. Big Sibs and senior coordinators should meet with the senior council and SCP
(Senior Council President) at least once a marking period to discuss future
meetings with their representative homerooms
ii. Big Sibs should meet with their homerooms at least once a marking period (to
prevent freshmen from becoming more disoriented), and should be open to
personal meetings with each freshman
iii. Topics of discussion will be established during Senior Council meetings
By reforming Big Sibs, we can make the seniors better integrated with the lowerclassmen and
even help lowerclassmen assimilate better.
II. The Public Forum - promote senior autonomy and involvement in their own affairs 1. Senior
year is a very stressful time, and as good a job as the Senior Council does, sometimes it’s just
not enough - what way to know about it better than by asking the Class of 2016?
2. A public forum should be held every Wednesday during Senior Council meetings for
the first half of the period
i. Any members of the senior class with pressing concerns can report them personally
to the senior council members and the SCP
ii. Senior council members can record and respond to these concerns
3. This would be effective for representing the grade’s interests to the administration
4. An online public forum can also be created, where concerns are submitted by a
Google survey
By means of a public forum and surveys to keep input from seniors coming, their most pressing
concerns can be addressed in an expedient, efficient, and ultimately more successful manner. The
Senior Council will act on the reforms they propose.
III. The Volunteer Committee
1. The biggest senior activities, like prom or homecoming, necessitate a troop of volunteers
to work the most smoothly.
2. A committee should be created wherein i. Members of the volunteer committee, which could include presidents of clubs or
NHS officers, meet with the SCP
ii.Logistics of/need for volunteers for each event is discussed; group leaders
and committee members set to recruiting volunteers for service credits
iii. The Senior Ambassadors will be involved in the logistics processes
By establishing a volunteer committee, all events will run with much greater expediency and
fewer faults.
Joshua Zakharov
3/16/15
SO Elections
Senior Council Pres. Candidacy
IV. WolverineWeb
1. Seniors are often worried about what’s to happen after high school - job opportunities,
internships, and college application
2. To make the maze more navigable, an online system linking students to alumni can be
constructed called WolverineWeb (name pending)
i. This system can better inform students about their prospects, applications & essays, and
future connections after high school
iii. Students can reach out to alumni with positions in...
a)
Colleges that the students have an interest in
b)
Professional fields that the students have interests in
V. Other committees will be maintained as is, and should problems arise (that I am alerted to by
external input or internal observation), they will be amended with votes of the Senior Council
members.
1. For now, the SCP will be responsible for relaying student desires and Senior Council
desires to the administration.
VI.
Trending Issues
1. The Cell Phone Ban
i. Though the ban is being lifted, I will seek to stay in communication with the
administration to ensure that a similar ban is not instituted by the school itself
rather than the DOE.
2. The 1-Cut Policy
i. The one cut policy will cause next year’s seniors a great deal of stress, so I will
seek to create at least a 2-cut policy for our grade or delay the suspension of
privileges that comes with a cut (though, given the reluctance of the administration
to act, I cannot make guarantees).
3. Transparency.
i. The SCP and Senior Council should keep the SO and the senior class briefed on its
biweekly proceedings, which can be posted on the school’s or Class of 2016’s
Facebook pages.
Remember, as Senior Council President, I will always make myself open to the suggestions and
input of the school to keep our grade, events, and wishes running smoothly!
Events
One of my biggest duties to the grade (and the school) is to organize your major events and trips.
This was one of the best years for events - homecoming had a rousing pep rally, senior
appreciation day was widely appreciated - but these can still be bettered. For large events
(including Prom and Homecoming), committees shall be created to manage logistics.
I.
Homecoming and Prom
1. Homecoming was a resounding success this year - a diverse set of clubs showed up and
performed, and were met with such enthusiasm!
2. Amendments can still be made to better Homecoming, however.
i. The Volunteer Committee, as mentioned earlier, can be brought in to make
Homecoming run even more smoothly
ii.
Less represented clubs as well as culture clubs can be urged to make a presence
at the pep rally (as most of the organizations this year were large and well-funded, like
debate and sports teams)
Joshua Zakharov
3/16/15
SO Elections
Senior Council Pres. Candidacy
3. Prom, too, was a success, but could be more smoothly run with the Volunteer Committee.
i. Unless the senior class desires a different venue, I will seek to keep prom at the
Waldorf-Astoria.
II.
Senior Appreciation Day
1. This year, Senior Appreciation Day was also widely appreciated.
2. College Acceptance Day can be modeled after Senior Appreciation Day with
events (but more college swag)
i. College Acceptance Day can be made more jovial and celebratory
similar
III. Class Trip Day
1. An entire senior class trip is virtually infeasible; the costs and logistics involved are
overwhelming. Instead, class-specific field trips can be made!
2. Examples include...
i. AP US Government trips to the New York Historical Society or Ellis
Island
ii. Astronomy or AP Physics trips to the Hayden Planetarium & AMNH
iii. Macro and Micro Economics trips to the Museum of American Finance
iv. AP Art History trips to the Metropolitan Museum of Art
3. Senior classes lend themselves well to taking advantage of all that the city has to offer in
terms of culture and opportunities to do out-of-class learning.
i. Precedents exist, like the APES trip to the wastewater management plant
4. Hundreds of other schools in the city do it; we should join!
IV. Spirit Week
1. Senior Spirit Day
i. The last day of Spirit Week should be dedicated to seniors!
ii. A poll can be opened (through Google Surveys) to see what day, trend, or fad
seniors are most interested in celebrating on the last day of Spirit Week
iii. Seniors would then follow that day during Spirit Week and represent the class of
2016!
iv. This could also be cross-applicable to many events of Spirit Day that are less
followed than others
V.
Senior Intramural Day
1. On a Friday in the spring semester, possibly before spring break, an after-school sports
tournament can be organized across Harris Field and the gyms
2. Sports can include baseball, basketball, volleyball, soccer, etc. - seniors would selforganize into teams
VI. Senior Brunch & other special meal days
1. Seniors will be able to enjoy breakfast in the cafeteria instead of going to their first
morning class
2. A special meal decided by the Senior Council and Nutritional Council can be served then
3. Other special senior meal days can be proposed (like “sundae Monday”) later in the year
VII. Advertising Senior Events and Dates
1. One of the most important parts of having senior events is making sure that almost
everyone in the grade participates, or at least knows that they have the option to.
2. There are several different ways of informing seniors about the events.
i. Make use of the internet!
Joshua Zakharov
3/16/15
SO Elections
Senior Council Pres. Candidacy
1.Keep a functioning calendar on bxscience.edu/ to display senior events
2.Have the Class of 2016 Facebook group create events to invite members to
3.Add a Senior News section to the Week In Preview emails.
ii. Use our PA systems!
1.Mention senior events at the end of all daily announcements (but before the joke
of the day, of course)
2.Include senior-related updates in the PA to keep seniors not only aware of events
but on top of deadlines (including college apps)
iii. Have a calendar kept outside of the cafeteria (near the club lists and general events
calendar) to track senior-specific dates
VIII. My Qualifications
1. Throughout this year, last year, and freshman year, I’ve been an avid member of or in
the leadership of several different clubs and teams, as well as the SO.
i. I’ve been a member of…
1. Debate
2. Dynamo
3. Exposition
4. Table Tennis
5. Jewish Student Union
ii.And I’ve been a leader in…
1. Debate – Research Director
2. Exposition – Managing Editor
3. JSU – Secretary
4. Homeroom alternate senator for 2 years, and on the special events
committee (which uniquely qualifies me for senior council president)
2. Ultimately, I have experience not only in this school’s administrative matters but also
in event planning, running, and coordinating, in leading groups and organizing agendas,
and in working with members of the administration.
VOTE JZ FOR SENIOR COUNCIL PRESIDENT!