ESO – the Mouthpiece of the Students at Parkskolan

“ESO – what is that?” That is a question which is often heard among the students of Parkskolan. A meeting with the ESO group gives the answer: It is the group that takes care of the physical and mental environment at the school. Work of great value which, unfortunately, does not always get the response it deserves.

The group consists of cheerful and at the same time purposeful students who make the impression of working hard to improve the physical as well as the mental environment at Parkskolan.

A unanimous ESO board

Meeting with the ESO board - the students environmental committee

As safety representatives (ombudsmen) for the students we work for the students to have better working environment. One example is the ambition to get rid of the mildew which is to be found in some places of the school and which makes some students and teachers feel sick. Another problem we are working on is the leaks that are a little everywhere , says Lotta Hennström, the chairwoman of the board.
Besides, it will be necessary to check on the machines at the Industrial Program so that no one will be hurt, adds Andrea Nordling, a member of ESO.
The Chemistry room was renovated last year, after complaints from the students. A meeting was called upon where a need of renovation was stated. The Hairdresser students are also going to have their premises renovated and the students are to take part in deciding how the rooms will be designed, says Michaela Lindwe, secretary of the board.

Complaints

A very common expression is “The food at school is so bad”. The food at Parkskolan is what the students complain of most often and that is one of the current topics ESO is working on. Other topics are the temperature in the classrooms and the toilets.
Some time ago, in the beginning of December last year, ESO took part at a meeting with the staff of the school kitchen concerning school meals. It was stressed that the students should talk to the kitchen staff if there is something they dislike or if there are suggestions on what can be done, says Lotta Hennström. More about the meeting is to be found at the internal web of Parkskolan. The reason why it is cold at Parkskolan is that the school was built in a wrong way. The many windows allow a great deal of warmth to escape, says Anton Johnson, secretary of ESO.

Weak response

In spite of their hard work ESO has very little money at their disposal. They must borrow money from the students´ council, and the response from the other students at Parkskolan is not as big as wanted. Some students do not even know what ESO is.
At school conferences we feel that we are not taken seriously, says Lotta.
The headmaster Cathrina Strandberg says it is quite the other way round.
Thanks to their co-operation at the school conference we have examined and attended to many necessary improvements at Parkskolan, for instance improvements in the Chemistry room.
However, she stresses that the global financial crisis affects the possibilities of the school to make improvements.

Not only physical health

We have professional secrecy in ESO, which many of the students do not know. That means that if any of the students feel that they are discriminated or that nobody listens to them, they can come to us. We are a kind of middleman. But if we suspect that it is about crime, we must report it, Lotta points out.
The students should not be content if something bad happens but bring their complaints to us. ESO also cares about anti-bullying, even though bullying is not a great problem at Parkskolan.

Continuation?

It is obvious that the members of ESO are immensely committed to their fight for the students’ well-being at Parkskolan. What will happen when they pass their exam (Sw:studentexamen), and leave school?
Our vision is that the work of ESO will continue in spite of the fact that we, the present representatives, leave school. All the time there will be things that need to be changed or renovated. It is important that the communication with the school leaders is good. But above all that the school leaders not only listen at the meetings but also take part in the work with our topics.

It is possible to contact ESO by e-mail: eso@park.se

Written by Ida Lindgren
E-mail:sp10-16@park.se
Translated by Anita Lindberg, former teacher of English at Parkskolan