ELMSDALE: Grade four and five students at Elmsdale District School were among those across N.S. to take part in StudentVote.
The StudentVote mock election ran parallel to the federal election. Results of the student election were released upon all polls in Canada closing on Sept. 20. Students across Canada predicted a Liberal minority government.
The Student Vote Program was created by the non-partisan organization CIVIX Canada.
Here are responses from students at Elmsdale District on participating in StudentVote as provided by teacher Denise Palmer on Sept. 22.
1. What did you enjoy most about this experience?
“I enjoyed the suspense about who would win.” – Michael Hines, Grade 5
“I liked learning about the candidates on the computer.” – Will Foster, Grade 5
“I enjoyed this because I felt like an adult.” – John Teskey, Grade 5
“I know what to do next time when I do vote. When I am a grown up I will remember this.” – Noah Crossman, Grade 5
“I really liked putting the vote in the box.” – Chase Ratcliffe, Grade 4
“Normally I wouldn’t care too much because I didn’t know much about it, but my teacher showed me about it and it was pretty interesting. But, my favourite part was voting; I felt pretty powerful.” – Lily O’Brien, Grade 5
“Politics is so interesting so it was fun.” – Sophia Wilson, Grade 5
“I liked marking the ballot.” – Calah MacIlreith, Grade 5
“I enjoyed the vote because it felt real and I like the experience. It was cool to say I voted.” – Phoenix Burgess Hines, Grade 5
2. What did you learn about voting and why it’s important?
“I learned that it is important to vote.” – Tanner Musseau, Grade 5
“I learned that a good voter does his (or her) research.” – Michael Hines, Grade 5
“People have a voice.” – Wesley MacIssac, Grade 5
“It is important to vote because then you have a choice to pick a new Prime Minister.” – Liam Palmer, Grade 4
3. How did you choose who to vote for (no need to say who you voted for)?
“I chose to vote for the party because it said it would help people who have debt and help with buying houses and land.” – David MacLellan, Grade 5
“We did our research.” – Ella Ward, Grade 5
“We researched and then knew what we wanted.” – Rylee Duffy, Grade 5
“Voting kinda made me nervous because I didn’t know who [the candidates] were at first, but I chose by their speeches.” – Emma McKeen, Grade 4
“I chose him for what he said and what he believes in.” – Harrison Allum-Buckley, Grade 4.