What is our house system all about?

During the 2017-18 school year the Pupil Council – or Comhairle nan Sgoilearan in Gaelic – decided that their aim over the year would be to develop learner participation and look for ways in which we could further create a pupil identity for all Whinhill boys and girls. Their suggestion, which was presented successfully to our School Management Team, was to create a house system.

The Pupil Council members decided that our house system should be used to reinforce our school values and our approach to positive relationships and behaviour.

All pupils have been divided into four houses and each new pupil will be allocated to one house when they are enrolled. Allocation is random and the numbers are evenly divided across the houses. Siblings will always be in the same house. Staff have also been randomly allocated to houses. Mrs Ruddy and Mrs Hunter are kept impartial and will oversee the whole system.

Our Houses

Our pupils, parents and staff were given the opportunity to suggest house names, and the final names were chosen by the Pupil Council. Our house names are based on names of shipyards of Inverclyde. It was thought that we should choose something that represents our local area.

House Captains & Vice-Captains

Each year in term 1 all of our primary 6 pupils will be given the opportunity to campaign to become Vice-Captain. This will consist of writing speeches, making posters and setting out why they think they are the best people to make a difference at Whinhill. They will give their speeches in front of the whole school and then a closed ballot vote will be held to decide who will become our vice-captains. Vice-Captains will become the House Captain automatically when they move into primary 7.

What is their role?

The role of the House Captain and Vice-Captain is to firstly ensure they spark a positive relationship with their fellow house pupils. It is their job to motivate and encourage everyone in their house to follow our school values and make sure they are working their hardest, ensuring they earn points and aim for a successful term.

House Captains will collect and tally the house points, and will call on their vice-captain to stand in and support them when needed. Our House Captains and Vice-Captains will share their progress with the school at each awards assembly. They may also use this opportunity to motivate their house to achieve more!

Reward!

Termly the winning house will receive a reward. Firstly the House Cup will be displayed proudly in the glass cabinet with the winning house’s coloured ribbon. Secondly, they will get to undertake a fun activity together. A date will be chosen each term, again to suit the school diary. Advance notification will be given of this date. Rewards could be an afternoon on the pitch playing games, a movie afternoon or extra playtime.

We hope the house system has a positive impact on relationships and behaviour across our school. We would also like it to create an ethos of respect among all our pupils and staff.

May the best house win!