NHCS will be implementing a new initiative called "Hawks Town Halls" in order to increase student voice throughout the school and provide a forum in which students and staff can openly debate and discuss new ideas. This is definitely something new for us, so when the guidelines were being written, our Town Halls will be a hybrid between official parliamentary style meetings and Quaker Friends meetings. Both are exercises in civil discourse and democratic deliberation; however, where they diverge slightly is the former relies more on procedures where the latter's objectives are more open-ended, with a focus on reaching consensus rather than majority vote.
It's a subtle, but meaningful, difference.
All students and staff are equal voting members and will be able to draft proposals for the agenda. Meetings will occur, for now, every other Friday afternoon at 11:00 am until dismissal. It is not mandatory to attend, although if you want your voice heard, if you have an interesting idea, you need to participate.
Members have until noon the day previous to submit proposals in writing to the ballot box in the front commons. An agenda and notes will both be made available within 48 hours of the meeting.
Linked here is the official Town Hall Handbook for more information.