A “special” council meeting for the students of Sutton School

A nice democratic exercise was practiced at the Sutton Town Hall when the 1st and 2nd grade students of the Sutton School came to present their project “À vélo, à l’école!” in front of the mayor and the councillors, real and active, who held a special municipal meeting for the occasion.

Accueil des élèves par le maire Robert Benoît et la conseillère Lynda Graham

A large assembly

About 30 children aged 6, 7 and 8, accompanied by their teachers Frédérique Bruneau and Marie-Hélène Desnoyers, showed up in the council room, which had been set up as for a regular council meeting. Councillor Lynda Graham and Councillor Marc-André Blain were present and the Mayor had asked Town employees to act as the missing Councillors in order to best represent the sitting Council.

Protocol followed

The Mayor called the meeting to order and followed the agenda prepared by the actual Clerk Jonathan Fortin. He explained to the very attentive audience how a meeting was usually conducted and then turned the floor over to the children who were making the presentation on behalf of their classes.

A very well prepared citizen project

Amaranta, Félix, Florence, Frida, Gabrielle, Kalvin, Léo, Norah and Tierra took turns at the microphone to explain the project that had been prepared very seriously in class. Supported by the projection of images, the children presented their ideas for encouraging safe cycling to school: adding bike lanes, painting bikes on the ground, posting awareness signs, and organizing a cycling rally point for cycling to school. The coucil “members” were impressed with the thoroughness and relevance of their project and unanimously voted in favour!

A lively question period             

Following the presentation, the Mayor opened the floor for questions, which showed the enthusiasm and energy of the young audience. The Mayor and his Councillors said they were delighted with this great experience of citizen participation which gives great hope in our future!

Conclusion de la belle présentation PowerPoint réalisée par les élèves

The ” À vélo, à l’école!” project is currently being analyzed by the administration and recommendations will be tabled shortly.

Congratulations to the students, the teachers and the Sutton School!