Form a Get Set committee

Like all good Mexican waves, the more that take part the better!

So you’ll want to involve as many students as possible in your Get Set network project.

To do this, you’ll need a bit of organisation. So why not form a committee to co-ordinate the action?

Spreading the workload

In your team you’ll need…

A Chair – responsible for running meetings. They make sure everyone sticks to the agenda, everyone who wants to have a say gets a say, decisions are reached, and meetings start and finish on time. Sometimes committees rotate this role, so that everyone gets a turn.

A Secretary – makes sure everyone has the information they need. They communicate the time and place of meetings and distribute the agenda. They may also help the chair write the agenda. During a meeting they take the minutes, write them up afterwards, distribute them, and file a copy away. A secretary may also write and receive letters and emails on behalf of the committee.

Members – want to get in on the action too. They are happy to brainstorm ideas, help make decisions and take responsibility for specific tasks, for example, doing surveys, presentations, asking for permissions, etc. It may be a good idea to make sure that you have a good range of members.

Other roles…

A Publicity Co-ordinator – makes sure as many people as possible know about what’s going on. This may mean writing for the school blog, designing leaflets and posters, writing to the school Governors and speaking to the local press.

An Honorary Member – may be a local athlete, artist, actor, musician or community leader who can attend perhaps one or two meetings per year and give their support.

Guest speakers – can be a great way of getting information. For example, if you choose to do a London 2012 mural you may invite a local artist who has done a mural before to come along and speak for 10 minutes on how to get started.

What’s an agenda?

It’s simply a list of points to discuss in a meeting (with timings beside each one). That way you can be sure you get everything covered.

For example:

1. Thanks for coming (1 min)
2. Introduce any new members (2 mins)
3. Apologies for absence (2 mins)
4. Point 1 for discussion (10 mins)
5. Point 2 for discussion (15 mins)
6. Point 3 for discussion (5 mins)
7. Any other business (5 mins)
8. Date of next meeting (2 mins)

Tips for the Chair

• Briefly introduce each agenda item.
• Don’t assume people know what you’re talking about! Sometimes they won’t, so explain any ongoing issues.
• Always keep an eye on the time, and move people on if necessary, for example, ‘I’m going to give this discussion another three minutes and then draw it to a close.’
• If someone veers from the agenda don’t get drawn in, for example say, “That’s an important point, can we come back to it later?”
• Stop private conversations as soon as they start!
• Make sure all views get heard – including those you may disagree with.

What are minutes?

They are notes of a meeting – what you’ve decided to do, who is going to do it, by when etc. They remind people of what they agreed, and also keep members who weren’t able to attend a meeting informed about what’s going on.

What makes a good meeting?

A good meeting requires a bit of order, so have a few rules and make sure all members get a copy and stick to them. For example:

1. ‘Speak through the chairperson’ – this means put your hand up and wait for your turn.
2. Don’t talk among yourselves, or interrupt others.
3. Stay on the agenda. Any additional points should be made under ‘any other business’.
4. Keep any contributions short and to the point.

And you’re off!