The Honourable Judge Jim Mitchell swears in nine MLAs for the Aspen Heights Elementary School Microsociety. (rdnewsNOW/Ashley Lavallee-Koenig)

By Ashley Lavallee-Koenig

ONE-OF-A-KIND IN RED DEER

Microsociety making mega-impact on students for 15 years

Sep 23, 2024 | 2:47 PM

The Aspen Heights Elementary School Microsociety is entering full-swing after citizens and their elected government representatives all took oaths of good faith, and were ceremoniously sworn into office by the Honourable Judge Jim Mitchell on September 23.

The school’s Microsociety is unique in Red Deer and offers Kindergarten to Grade Five students hands-on experience with a variety of life skills.

“Microsociety makes our school operate as a little society, so every student has a job, they earn a wage, businesses pay taxes; Students can make their own business through an entrepreneur program where they get funding from the government, or from a startup. We have our own police force, an accounting firm, a bank,” said Tosha Sim, coordinator for the Microsociety. “We have all of the things that typically happen in a society, but in a safe play environment for the whole school.”

The experience begins with the democratic process. Each year, a fifth grade student is elected as premier and a fourth grade student as deputy premier. Additionally, each classroom (nine this year) elects an MLA that they want to represent them and communicate with the micro-government on their behalf.

Sim explained that each MLA is then assigned a ministry, which directs what kinds of projects the student should bring forward.

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“That student will lead initiatives that’s taken on by them. They lead the way, we don’t… that student leads in whatever ministerial naming they’ve been given,” she said. For example, an MLA in charge of the environmental ministry may propose a playground clean up initiative to address litter build up, she added.

This year’s premier, Frank, and deputy premier, Ruby, as well as all nine MLAs were sworn into office and asked to take oaths of service in front of their families, teachers, and the citizens of the Microsociety.

Judge Mitchell asked MLAs to repeat the following: “I solemnly promise that I will always be faithful to the laws and to the people of Aspen Heights Microsociety, and I will always preform my government duties to the very best of my skill and my ability. This, I promise.”

Citizens swore a separate oath, pledging to be good members of the society, which Mitchell was sure to emphasize the importance of.

“These words are your promise, your very special promise to be good and loyal citizens,” he said. “We’re all here together in one place in the light of day. It’s your time and your place for each of you to make this special promise.”

The program has been running for 15 years, and Mitchell has been swearing the society in since the very beginning; The Microsociety presented him with a special plaque to commemorate the occasion during the ceremony.

Reflecting on the program, he said, “What impresses me is the impact that it has on the children. By learning the why’s and the wherefores of the real world, the world of business and jobs and employment and bank accounts, these kids are absorbing a lifelong life lesson and I’m really honoured to be a part of it.”

Now that the government has been sworn in, Sim said they will find students to act as business managers, who will then hold a job fair for the rest of the society to attend so they can hire their employees.

Minimum wage in the Microsociety is six stingers, the name of its currency, per work period, but Sim said that managers sometimes make a higher wage. Payroll workers calculate student wages and deposit them into their online bank accounts. Students can then save up their stingers for the Micro-auction at the end of the year, which features exciting community-donated prizes, or take them out from the bank on Action Days.

Action Days are a market day, when businesses set up in the hallway and sell their products or services to the citizens, and they run every Wednesday from Jan.-May. Students experience the Microsociety itself for one hour on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for a total of three hours per week.

“It’s a really safe place to learn all of these really important life lessons that not only connect perfectly with our new curriculum, in the math curriculum for Alberta there’s a huge emphasis on financial literacy and that’s just naturally woven through everything micro-related from our school,” said Sim.

The Microsociety wraps things up on May 15, 2025 with Micro Night, a night where community members are invited to witness all the work the citizens have been doing and shop the market themselves.

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