The last week of Term 3 saw voting for the Student Elections take place. The new Student Trustee is Samuel Blackwood, congratulations Samuel.

The Student Elections take place each year and students from Years 9-13 are able to nominate themselves or be nominated by a fellow student to the position of Student Trustee for a 12 month term. Two nominations were received.  

We were fortunate to be contacted by the Electoral Commission, Dunedin Office with an offer to help run the Student Elections.  The aim was to encourage students to enrol and vote in Government Elections when they turn 18.  The Student Trustee Election process was run similar to that of a Government Election and gives students an idea of the voting process.  

Election day came and the room was set  with official voting booths and Electoral Commission staff assisting by crossing off voters names and handing out voting forms.  It was a great experience for the students and we often heard, "oh, this is a proper election".  We had the biggest turn out of voters this year, which I hope continues.  The odd packet of jelly beans also grabbed their attention, sadly you don't get these in a Government Election.

A huge thanks to Rachel McNally, Bindi Leech and Dave Morrison from the Electoral Commission, Dunedin Office.  A big thanks also to Ms Schaumann who had a very full Library with students exiting through the Library after voting.  Thanks also to Ollie McColl, Trent Zhang, Brett Gullery and various staff for their assistance.  It made for a very fun election.

Cursey Adie-Cropley
Returning Officer