Student Council Elections - Class of 2024

Poster for the elections of the Class of 2024.

On October 11th, it was announced that the sophomore class of GZAAT- the class of 2024- would be electing their representatives for the student council for this school year. The candidates had a few days to prepare their speeches, and they presented them online on October 18th to the other students.

There were four candidates: Zura Gigineishvili, Tamar Kadagidze, Demetre Togonidze, and Shota Sikharulidze, all of whom had great ideas and visions of things they could offer if elected.

Zura Gigineishvili, who presented first, stressed the importance of bonds between students, proposing various ways to strengthen them and unite the class even more. He suggested organising different events and activities that would aid this goal, such as some fun games that could be played in groups: Secret Santa, a Halloween party, and more. He stated that he prioritised students' opinions and promised that all voices would be heard.

Next was Tamar Kadagidze, who, like Zura, had many creative ideas. She agreed on the importance of bringing all students together and making lasting connections. Her aims included supporting fellow students, organising activities for both educational and entertainment purposes, and many more. For example, she suggested organising charities, marathons, and creating physical copies of yearbooks.

Demetre Togonidze, whose speech followed, agreed with his fellow candidates about the significance of the unity of the class and offered to help cope with changing circumstances and help students inspire one another. He, too, presented plans of several fun projects, suggesting monthly zoom meetings between students, sports events, trips, and what not. He said that his aim was to be the voice of the students.

And last, but not least, was Shota Sikharulidze. He revealed his ideas to the class, all of which had the aim to create a friendly, kind, and enjoyable environment. He shared a couple of activities he had in mind, such as sports, special guests with educational lectures, and a trip to Katchreti at the end of the school year (making it a kind of tradition for the class, as they went the previous year). He also shared with his classmates the following link: https://www.shoti.vote/ , which leads to his website detailing all his plans and intentions.

After the impressive presentations, the rest of the class was given time to vote before the final results were announced.

On October 19th, the class of 2024 found out the results of the elections.

The results of the elections.

Shota Sikharulidze and Zura Gigineishvili are now respectively the president and the vice president of the sophomore class!

They both shared their gratitude for the given trust and opportunity and promised not to disappoint.

Shortly after, Shota and Zura were interviewed in more detail about their plans and overall experience. They were both asked the same questions and gave similar answers, which proves the cohesiveness of the two: cohesiveness of the class holds a vital importance, so it’s great to see them agreeing on significant topics.

Interview with Shota Sikharulidze - Class President:

Interviewer: What was the main reason you wanted to become president? What did you think needed to be changed?

Shota: The main reason, I think, is that I love activities and coming up with ideas, and I am also willing to make school better for my classmates. Because of the pandemic, students stopped taking part in social life and activities. I want to change that for my classmates, get them involved in activities, and restore the student culture that the school had before Covid-19.

Interviewer: What do you think is the main reason you got elected?

Shota: I think a lot of my classmates know me, and they know that I am a responsible person and love giving all my effort to achieve my goals. This knowledge gave me confidence and, in addition to a good campaign and a good speech, made me the class president. The campaign played a big role, in my case, because I made a website that took a lot of effort and time, which impressed a lot of people.

Interviewer: Now that you are the president, what, in your opinion, is your main responsibility?

Shota: In order to become a president, you need to have a great speech that includes plenty of promises. I believe my responsibility is to keep all of my promises and, of course, to inform my classmates about all the information I get from the administration.

Interviewer: And what will your first step as the class president be?

Shota: I’ll start with sports championships between classes such as soccer, basketball, and ping-pong, and collaborate with the vice president.

Interviewer: And will you take into consideration the ideas of the fellow candidates?

Shota: Of course. For example, playing Secret Santa during the Christmas party is a great idea, and I will definitely consider that.

Interviewer: As you mentioned, creating strong bonds and having good connections is a significant task you have as a president. Considering the pandemic situation, how do you plan to engage and stay in touch with students outside everyday classes?

Shota: I think that the pandemic is the biggest obstacle for students, preventing them from staying in touch for different activities, but I believe that if we behave the way we do during school and normal classes, we will be able to create a strong bonds among the students outside of school.

Interviewer: From your speech, it's visible that you have various activities, both school-related and unrelated, in mind. As, unfortunately, the pandemic is still a major factor, how do you see your plans and ideas working out? Will there be options for those who can't attend physically?

Shota: Of course! Despite social distancing, as all the students understand the risks of meeting up, I believe we can do any activity. During my speech, I mentioned that I will make activities in which many students will have a chance to participate, and all of them will have different tasks. Some of the tasks do not require physical attendance at all. For example, creating surveys, emailing students about the activities, making google slides, and most importantly, coming up with new ideas.

Interviewer: And finally, is there anything you wish to add that you think is significant about your position as the president?

Shota: As I mentioned before, I created a website that helped me a lot. I am going to use that site to keep students updated, create polls, and receive new activity ideas from there. We can overcome any obstacle with teamwork, and I trust my classmates in that.

Interview with Zura Gigineishvili - Class Vice President

Interviewer: What was the main reason you wanted to become president? What did you think needed to be changed?

Zura: I really wanted to represent the class and wanted this year to be fun and exciting, and I believe, with my ideas, we can achieve that. Last two years, basically after the first half of the eight grade, we were in a pandemic, so everything was on zoom, and we weren't able to have fun like we did before, so I really feel like I am the candidate who can achieve that and bring some excitement.

Interviewer: What do you think is the main reason you got elected?

Zura: As an independent candidate, I really relied on my ideas, presence, and how I delivered everything. I feel like I brought some interesting ideas. Also, from the start of eighth grade, our classmates know that I am the type of person that will do everything I say and that I am reliable to represent this class.

Interviewer: Now that you have become the vice president, what, in your opinion, is your main responsibility?

Zura: Probably hearing concerns from the students, as I’ve already heard a couple. So after I hear and formulate these frustrations/ideas, they need to be delivered to the administration.

Interviewer: What will your first step as the class vice president be?

Zura: Let's get this started! First of all, me and Shota will write down ideas that we want to execute as a team: ideas that we have planned individually, and of course, those that we will plan cohesively. I will hear everyone's concerns and deliver them to the administration.

Interviewer: And will you take into consideration the ideas of your fellow candidates?

Zura: Yes, of course. Me and Shota already talked about how we want the activities to be carried out and all of the suggestions will be taken into consideration.

Interviewer: As you both mentioned, creating strong bonds and having good connections is significant and is one of the tasks you have as the vice president. Considering the pandemic situation, how do you plan to engage and stay in touch with students outside everyday classes?

Zura: Of course, sadly, if covid cases start going up, we will have to do it via zoom, but we can still have various activities, even the ones I mentioned about halloween or Christmas, as well as lectures, but right now, let's focus on what we will do physically, as at the moment, we are still here.

Interviewer: From your speech, it's visible that you have various activities, both school-related and unrelated, in mind. As, unfortunately, the pandemic is still a major factor, how do you see your plans and ideas working out? Will there be options for those who can't attend physically?

Zura: Yes, of course! If we do something, in most of cases, it will involve students who can't attend physically as well.

Interviewer: And lastly, is there anything you wish to add that you think is significant about your position as the vice president?

Zura: Once again, thank you to everyone who voted for me! It was an important election, and I will take this as a very serious and crucial responsibility.

Congratulations Zura and Shota once again! Thank you to all who participated in the elections. This year, the choice was definitely not easy.

Shota and Zura will surely make a great team and be amazing as the president and the vice president of the class of 2024. Their ideas and plans sound fascinating. Good luck to them both!

Edited by Barbare Melikidze