ACADEMIC SPOTLIGHT

Model Congress

Nearly 200 middle school students from 13 area independent schools send delegations of model legislators to Packer Collegiate on Saturday, April 24th for the annual Model Congress assembly. With support from a Wimpheimer Grant, MCS sent 20 Upper School students to the event.

When students arrive at the event, they broke off into one of 17 separate committees based upon the content of bills they have been preparing for months. These committees are meant to resemble actual congressional committees and include Judiciary, Education, Health, Housing & Urban Affairs, and Science Space & Technology.

After a morning committee session filled with heated debate and criticism, the bills that pass committee are reviewed in one of four full sessions. (House I, House II, Senate I, and Senate II). The bills that “survived committee” included one that would place a $15 tax on cutting down any tree over 80 feet (with the revenue then going to plant a new tree), and another to raise the minimum mileage per gallon an all cars were voted on. Five bills were passed.

At the end of the day, the "Golden Gavel" was awarded to seventeen students (one from each committee) who were deemed to be the best prepared by their respective committee chairs. Vaughn Simmons of MCS, pictured above, was one of the seventeen students honored.

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