Chatham Charter School House System
Definition
The Chatham Charter School House System divides the student body into four groups (“houses”) for the purposes of governance and student involvement.
Purpose
The following are goals of the house system:
Basic Structure
Overview
The high school student body will be divided into the following houses, each named for an important individual from Chatham Charter’s history:
Each house will include at least two faculty members as co-sponsors. The faculty will be divided before the school year begins and will remain affiliated with their house from year to year. The leadership structure of the houses detailed in the following section of this document. Houses become the default group for dividing up the student body for extracurricular activities, with the exception of grade-level splits for certain college readiness activities.
Additionally, there exists a “House Council” that oversees all of the houses. The members include one faculty member and one student per house (aka Head of House).
Dividing the students
To put the initial system in place, students in rising grades 10-12 should be divided into houses at random and via grade level. Each house should have approximately the same number of students and the same number of students from each graduating class. House assignment is mandatory, and will be not be changed except in extreme circumstance.
For rising grade 9 students, a ceremony will be held that includes a randomized assignment of house for each student within the first week of the school year.
House Structure and Roles
Leadership Circle Roles
The following roles are mandatory for each house. Elections are to be held within the first two weeks of school, after the grade 9 selection ceremony. Only upperclassmen are eligible for seats on the house’s leadership circle. Members of this group may be eligible for special opportunities including leadership seminars, teambuilding activities, and other events.
Office Qualifications
Sorting
At the beginning of each school year, Freshmen will be sorted into their houses in front of the student body.
Points and the House Cup
Overview
The house point system is intended to foster competition between the houses during the school year. At the end of each year, a House is crowned the winner of the school year and awarded the House Cup. The Cup and that house’s colors are displayed in the lobby during the following school year.
Points are earned based on performance in academic, athletic, and artistic endeavors. Additionally, points can be awarded by faculty members for exceptional efforts on the part of students.
For a more detailed breakdown of the point system, see the document entitled “House Point System.”
Events
Fundraising
Any house that wants to plan an activity requiring school funding must appropriately fundraise for that activity. Fundraiser must be planned by students and approved by faculty before they can begin. As with all school fundraising, all funds must be appropriately reported and receipted. For any fundraiser that a house plans, any money raised must be split evenly with the school’s general fund.
Regular Events
Faculty advisors to each house will be assigned times during the year at regular intervals to run competitive events during the second half of lunch. These events will be scheduled around the students’ availability and any extracurricular events. The house whose team wins each event will be awarded points towards the house cup.
Quarterly Events
Before the school year begins, each house will be assigned a quarter of the school year during which they are responsible for hosting a large event. These large events must be scheduled outside of school hours, though they may fall on school days. The purpose of these events should be to foster a spirit of friendly community between the students of the school and contribute to the overall experience of Chatham Charter School.
Logistics
Overview
Various logistical systems will be necessary to ensure the long-term success of the House System at Chatham Charter School.
Meetings
Houses should meet at least once a month at an assigned time. These mandatory meetings should occur during the second half of lunch as student schedules allow.
The house council should also meet once a month. These meetings can be scheduled individually and may fall before or after school hours.
Announcements
On a weekly basis, the student body will be updated on information including but not limited to the following:
This announcement will take the form of a podcast to be recorded by a rotating member of the House Council. The scribe of any house wishing to add an announcement to the podcast should write the announcement and consult with whichever member is responsible for that week’s recording. A calendar will be maintained for the purpose of keeping track of this duty.
Definition
The Chatham Charter School House System divides the student body into four groups (“houses”) for the purposes of governance and student involvement.
Purpose
The following are goals of the house system:
- To increase students’ interest in their role as a part of Chatham Charter.
- To provide a system of government in place of a more traditional model.
- To create a system of mentoring between grades.
Basic Structure
Overview
The high school student body will be divided into the following houses, each named for an important individual from Chatham Charter’s history:
- House Joyce, named in honor of Ronnie Joyce
- House Milholen, named in honor of Julia-Brent Milholen
- House Nobles, named in honor of Danny Nobles.
- House Tucker, named in honor of Dr. Otho Tucker.
Each house will include at least two faculty members as co-sponsors. The faculty will be divided before the school year begins and will remain affiliated with their house from year to year. The leadership structure of the houses detailed in the following section of this document. Houses become the default group for dividing up the student body for extracurricular activities, with the exception of grade-level splits for certain college readiness activities.
Additionally, there exists a “House Council” that oversees all of the houses. The members include one faculty member and one student per house (aka Head of House).
Dividing the students
To put the initial system in place, students in rising grades 10-12 should be divided into houses at random and via grade level. Each house should have approximately the same number of students and the same number of students from each graduating class. House assignment is mandatory, and will be not be changed except in extreme circumstance.
For rising grade 9 students, a ceremony will be held that includes a randomized assignment of house for each student within the first week of the school year.
House Structure and Roles
Leadership Circle Roles
The following roles are mandatory for each house. Elections are to be held within the first two weeks of school, after the grade 9 selection ceremony. Only upperclassmen are eligible for seats on the house’s leadership circle. Members of this group may be eligible for special opportunities including leadership seminars, teambuilding activities, and other events.
- Head of House
- Represents the house to the House Council.
- Has final say tiebreaker situations between the Leadership Circle.
- Leads House meetings.
- Delegates any responsibilities that are not covered by the Leadership Circle to additional members of the house.
- House Treasurer
- Tracks money the house receives through fundraising efforts.
- Budgets with the Head of House for House-sponsored activities.
- Coordinates with the faculty member assigned to his or her house for bookkeeping purposes.
- Social Media
- House Scribe
- Keeps records of House meetings.
- Maintains a House web page and any social media accounts associated with the house. (storefront)
- Bears the massive responsibility of preserving a House’s legacy for generations of students to come.
- House Warden
- Gauges the mental state of fellow House members.
- Oversees mentoring system within the house.
- Helps report various data for points purposes.
Office Qualifications
- To be elected to any governing position in the house, the following requirements must be met:
- Candidate must be a rising junior or senior
- Candidate must be passing at least three of four courses for the duration of their term
- Candidates may be removed from office if they receive a disciplinary referral during their term
Sorting
At the beginning of each school year, Freshmen will be sorted into their houses in front of the student body.
- The process randomly adds students to the houses.
- The students will be sorted in front of the rest of the student body in a large ceremony early in the school year.
Points and the House Cup
Overview
The house point system is intended to foster competition between the houses during the school year. At the end of each year, a House is crowned the winner of the school year and awarded the House Cup. The Cup and that house’s colors are displayed in the lobby during the following school year.
Points are earned based on performance in academic, athletic, and artistic endeavors. Additionally, points can be awarded by faculty members for exceptional efforts on the part of students.
For a more detailed breakdown of the point system, see the document entitled “House Point System.”
Events
Fundraising
Any house that wants to plan an activity requiring school funding must appropriately fundraise for that activity. Fundraiser must be planned by students and approved by faculty before they can begin. As with all school fundraising, all funds must be appropriately reported and receipted. For any fundraiser that a house plans, any money raised must be split evenly with the school’s general fund.
Regular Events
Faculty advisors to each house will be assigned times during the year at regular intervals to run competitive events during the second half of lunch. These events will be scheduled around the students’ availability and any extracurricular events. The house whose team wins each event will be awarded points towards the house cup.
Quarterly Events
Before the school year begins, each house will be assigned a quarter of the school year during which they are responsible for hosting a large event. These large events must be scheduled outside of school hours, though they may fall on school days. The purpose of these events should be to foster a spirit of friendly community between the students of the school and contribute to the overall experience of Chatham Charter School.
Logistics
Overview
Various logistical systems will be necessary to ensure the long-term success of the House System at Chatham Charter School.
Meetings
Houses should meet at least once a month at an assigned time. These mandatory meetings should occur during the second half of lunch as student schedules allow.
The house council should also meet once a month. These meetings can be scheduled individually and may fall before or after school hours.
Announcements
On a weekly basis, the student body will be updated on information including but not limited to the following:
- The current standings of the House Points competition.
- Any points awarded for commendations to specific students.
This announcement will take the form of a podcast to be recorded by a rotating member of the House Council. The scribe of any house wishing to add an announcement to the podcast should write the announcement and consult with whichever member is responsible for that week’s recording. A calendar will be maintained for the purpose of keeping track of this duty.