Monach City Council Junior Advisory Group

On the 23rd of October Erin B, Jason, Aarav and I went to the Monash City Council. We were going because we had been chosen for the 2019 WHPS Junior Advisory Group. The voting had been a few weeks earlier. Mrs Posocco came with us, and we went in her car to get to the council. When we got there, we met the other schools, then asked our assigned questions to the councillors, whose names were Councillor Patterson and Councillor Fergeus. The question I asked was, ‘Could we have equipment such as permanent soccer goals, more climbing structures and in-ground trampolines at Jells Park?’.

The councillors said that permanent soccer goals weren’t really practical because in different seasons, people would play different sports. Councillor Patterson also said that there are a few places where there are permanent soccer goals, but that sometimes they may be locked up. As for the in-ground trampolines, the councillors said that trampolines are responsible for a lot of injuries. They also said that they aren’t in charge of Jells Park and that Parks Victoria are. Going to the council was a great way to request some things, and get your burning questions answered. If you have any concerns about trees, or anything else the council is in charge of, make sure to email them or visit their website https://www.monash.vic.gov.au/. Telling the council important things helps them know what they have to change in our community. Written By Milana

Milana, Aarav, Jason and I went to the 2019 Junior Advisory Group October meeting as representatives

for WHPS. At first I was really nervous, but when we got into the meeting room I relaxed quite a bit. We had morning tea first, then went and found our seats. Then we asked Councillor Patterson and

Councillor Fergeus our questions. My question was, “Could we have a pick up/drop off zone outside WHPS?”. They said that it seems there’s a lot of traffic at WHPS, as two of our other questions were about our safety with cars and traffic. They also said that they will ask someone from the traffic department to come and look at our school. Visit https://www.monash.vic.gov.au/ for more information on our community and how to contact the council. Written By Erin

On Wednesday the 23rd of October 2019, Me, Aarav, Erin and Milana went to the Monash Council. We were invited there so we had a question each to ask two out of the 11 councillors.

In the morning, we were due to meet Mrs Posocco in her classroom at 9:00 am. There she told us about the schedule and our questions. She told to meet her again no later than 10:10 am.

I went back to my classroom and had one session before I went back to her classroom. At around 10:00 am, I had my snack. Then I returned to Mrs Posocco’s room. She lead us to her car. She was going to drive us to the Monash Council. We got inside the car and then Mrs Posocco drove us there. We arrived and then parked. We crossed the road then walked towards the entrance to the Monash Council. We marched up a set of stairs where we found out that someone was waiting for us. We entered the meeting room where the councillors have their meetings every month. We were told where our seats were and sat down.

After we found our seats, we had morning tea. There were gingerbread men, fruit, a large variety of biscuits, muffins and cupcakes. There was also orange juice. I had a gingerbread man and a biscuit with half a cup of orange juice. Then we practised our questions. In the middle of it, One of the councillors walked in. He pretended he couldn’t hear us so we resumed practising. After everyone had finished eating and practising, we waited for the other councillor to come.

When the other councillor finally arrived, we began asking our questions. My question was “Could we have speed humps on Threadbow Crescent as we feel that we are in danger from speeding cars?” The councillor’s reply was that the council was going to do a traffic survey to see if the road met the requirements. After everyone had asked their questions, we had an open question session where we could ask any question we liked. Then we were allowed to pick a seat to sit in. In each seat were a show bag and a plant. Inside the show bag was a poster, a sticker booklet, an activity book, a mini recycling bin and a book about sustainability. There was also a plant for each person. My plant was Acacia Stricta. Soon after, we were allowed to go. I went outside and saw two gold necklaces in there. Someone explained to us that those necklaces were from the City of Oakleigh and the City of Waverly which merged to create the city of Monash. Both necklaces were made entirely of gold.

I had a lot of fun at the Monash Council. I hope I can go there again! Written By Jason

Mrs Posocco drove us to the Monash Council. We walked into the room where they do their work and

plan everything, like how they stop global warming. We waited for the other 4 people from 3 other schools. While we waited we had morning tea. As soon as they came they had their morning tea and at about 11am we started asking questions to the councillors. Their names were Josh Fergeus and Rebecca Patterson. Some of the questions asked by students were, if you could change something what would it be? and can we have more equipment at jells park such as permanent soccer goals, more climbing structures and in-ground trampolines. At about 12pm we left and came back to school.

Written By Aarav