The Cochrane Eagle fully intended to write (and did write) a story on the mock council session that took place Dec. 5 in Cochrane’s council chambers with English and French students from Manachaban Middle School.
However, two students — Laura Ing and Jake Ouellette — did such an amazing job writing about their experience for the Eagle, we decided to let them tell our readers the
On Dec. 5, I got the opportunity to meet Cochrane mayor Ivan Brooker and a few town councillors and administrators.
This great experience was because of our studying of democracy in social studies. I received the fortune to be part of a mock council meeting and play the role of the mayor. Some of my peers took on different roles, such as town councillors, administrators, the press and also delegates. If you are uncertain, the delegates were the students that presented their ideas to council members.
Before I go into too much detail about our trip, I’d like to explain more about the election. Firstly, every Grade 6 student at Manachaban presented their opinion on the Rock the Waves project. Some kids worked in groups, others were alone. Some were opposed, some kids were in favor and others were neutral.
During our presentation, each student was graded and the teachers identified which roles they qualified for. I wasn’t too confident about my group’s performance, as I felt that we were a little under rehearsed. I’m not sure about the other classes but, after that, the campaign began.
Our class was covered in campaign posters, colourful and creative, people were placing little handouts on everybody’s desk. Everyone soon came up to the front of the class to speak about the job they wanted to fill for a day. I was one of the few candidates in my class who presented a speech about why my classmates should vote for me as mayor. To be honest, I love public speaking and I don’t normally get nervous when I do so and this time was no different. I believe that my confidence was one of the reasons my class voted for me. I know that not everybody in the class voted for me, but thank you so much to the people who did; it was an honor to have been chosen for this lucky chance.
Now, let’s talk about that lucky chance. We walked to the RancheHouse, which was a short distance from our school. When we arrived, we were greeted by town CAO Julian deCocq, which was followed by a short presentation that was actually more interesting than I thought it would be. Here is a little metaphor for you; democracy is a rowboat. The community rows the boat, the council steers and the administrators make sure council is steering the right way. Do you get it?
Next, we visited the amazing mural called ‘Trust’ designed by Lewis Lavoie and painted by many different talented artists. If you would like to discover some of these artists, you can visit this website muralmosaic.com/Cochrane.html and click on each mosaic to find out who painted it.
Next, we took a quick trip to the Stockmen’s Library and learned about cow branding and some of Cochrane’s history.
Soon came my favorite and the most exciting part, the meeting! When French Grade 6s entered the meeting room, we were greeted by a few council members, administrators and a reporter from the Cochrane Eagle. Mayor Ivan Brooker is very kind and he walked me through the whole agenda and gave me pointers; he also helped me throughout the meeting and helped me come up with questions to ask the presenters.
During the first presentation, I’ll admit that I was a little nervous and I was too hesitant to ask any questions, but after that I realized that my fellow councillors seemed to be asking some impressive questions and I loosened up a bit. I had some questions that I wanted to ask and, if I regret anything, it would be that I didn’t ask them.
If I had to choose a different job to take on for a day it would probably be a councillor because I feel like they got to ask more questions, but that may just be because I wasn’t sure when or if I could ask questions.
I can’t imagine what it would be like to be the mayor full time; there is so much to remember, I truly don’t know how Mayor Brooker remembers all of it!
Sitting in that comfy chair, using a cool microphone and listening to the presentation made me feel like I was a judge at court, not to mention the awesome gavel that I got to use at the beginning and end of the conference.
After the mock council meeting, we ate lunch and sadly we had to leave. The whole adventure was incredible and I just wanted to say, on behalf of École Manachaban Middle School Grade 6 attendees and teachers, thank you for having us Cochrane council!
Laura Ing, Grade 6 student, Manachaban Middle School
On Dec. 5, the Grade 6s of Manachaban Middle School hiked down to the Cochrane RancheHouse. We had prepared a presentation about our opinions on the new pool and curling centre.
The mayor had invited us to a mock council meeting. We got to learn about some of the history of Cochrane Ranche, such as the cost of land and how much land Cochrane had.
We also got to learn how a council meeting functions. The students had the opportunity to play the roles of mayor, councillors and media. There were three presentations. Two did not know if they wanted the new pool and curling centre, while the other one was in favour.
In conclusion, we decided to build the new centre. This was a great learning experience for my classmates and I.
Jake Ouellette, Grade 6, Manachaban Middle School
