By Charles Pan’18, Staff Writer

The sixth grade school council election certainly drew a huge amount of attention this year.

Sixteen students from the sixthgrade signed up to run. Ms. Sparacino, a Humanities teacher, says that she is surprised that the sixteen students who were running were interested in protecting and promoting the spirit of the class of 2018. According to Ms. Sparacino, sixteen students was the highest number who signed up in the years that she had been at Newark Academy.

Students from all over the Middle School and even some people from the Upper School took genuine interest in what the candidates said about themselves. Many came to the Middle School hallway to read every one of the sixteen platforms. Alex Chang, a seventh grade school council representative, says, “I thought the material of the platforms were very creative and interesting.”

A runoff election was held on November 30, two days before the real election.

When voting, sixth graders were tense. Many did not want to show even their friends who they were voting for, and some went into the corners to hide their choices. Some students absolutely refused to tell their friends who they voted for.

After the runoffs, most of the conversation was about the upcoming final election. Everywhere you could hear the phrases, “Who did you vote for?” or “I am the best representative to be in the school council?”

The most memorable moment was when the candidates presented their speeches. Each candidate tried to sway the voters. Candidate Nick Wu ’18 proposed to organize a technology club. Candidate Evin Lathrop ’18 promised to establish a sixth grade common room.

One of the most interesting speeches was made by Siddarth Tumu ’18. When introducing himself, he stated that many people mistake him for a girl and he doesn’t stop to correct them anymore. “But I’m sure I would make a very pretty and beautiful one, though,” he adds, flipping his hair with his hand.

After the speeches were finished, Harry Echtman ’18, said that he thought all the speeches were persuasive and effective.

The votes were tallied and before the final winners were announced, the candidates were called in for a private meeting in the choral room. The eighth grade school council and Josh Charow, the Middle School president, explained to the candidates even if they didn’t win, they could always run again next year, and that winning or losing didn’t matter, it was all about the experience.

The final elected sixth grade school council members are Tess Ostroff, Charles Pan, Siddarth Tumu, and Nicholas Wu. When the names were announced, everyone applauded, not only the students who were elected, but also for the students who tried.

Reid Christmann, another member of the class of ’18, says, “The elections were very successful, and I was happy that the sixth graders voted for students who could handle the job. The class of ’18 was very honest about their voting.”

Each of the newly elected council members are already planning to hold sales events to raise money, host fun activities, and make learning more enjoyable. The sixth grade students hope that the new school council members will take the grade far.