Mayor reviews ideas from Vesturbæjarskóli suggestion box
The Student Rights Council at Vesturbæjarskóli briefed Mayor Heiða Björg Hilmisdóttir on the council's work this morning and reviewed ideas they had received. They say it's essential for children to have a voice in school operations and for their rights to be upheld.
Training in critical thinking and active civic engagement
Vesturbæjarskóli has been a UNICEF Rights Respecting School since 2018. The goal of Rights Respecting Schools is to build a democratic environment by purposefully fostering the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that help children become critical, active, and capable participants in modern society. The fundamental principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child serve as the foundation for all decisions in school and recreational activities and are reflected in interactions between children, young people, teachers, recreation advisors and other staff.
All students can submit ideas to a suggestion box in the school library. After the students on the Student Rights Council explained the goals and activities of their Rights Respecting School, they invited the mayor to peek into the box and read several suggestions that had been submitted.
Proposal for hot chocolate on Fridays well received
Heiða Björg was delighted by the suggestions she read, especially those proposing hot chocolate on Fridays and a math competition between classes. The proposal for the math competition included a pizza party for the winning class as a prize.
One example of a fun idea that has been put into practice is a hide-and-seek game where teachers search for students. The children's faces lit up as they described the game, and teachers agreed it was a tremendously fun day that everyone eagerly awaited.
