The Freshers was an after-school program organized by the seniors for 11th graders at Fountainhead. The main purpose of the event was to welcome the 11th graders to DP, the final two years of high school. As their seniors, we wanted to start their journey into the course with something meaningful and fun.
LO 1: Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
Since this was a group project, we all had our own strengths. My strength was that I was organized and fast with work. While preparing the gifts and working on the decorations, I would get the work done quickly and make sure that everything was organized so that nothing got lost and that we had all of our resources.
LO 2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process
The challenge we were faced with was time management. There was so much to be done but very little time. We planned to gift our juniors an ‘IBDP Survival Kit’ which consisted of letters for different situations they might face. For the letters, we had to prepare the envelopes on our own for almost 130 students. To overcome this, we scheduled early ins in school to work together on the gift as a team so that everyone can get something done and we would also work during our free slots.
LO 3: Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience
Our core team consisted of 11 people who set up this experience. We were thrilled when the concept was proposed, and we immediately began brainstorming ways to make this occasion special. The most crucial aspect of this event was the planning, and our meticulous attention to detail during the planning phase is what enabled us to execute the event successfully. We created a document from the beginning to manage our ideas, plans, tasks, resources, etc. Since this was a two-day event, it took careful planning to make sure that the people, resources, and decorations were there at the appropriate time.
LO 4: Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences
The process of preparing the gifts was very time-consuming. There were times we’d regret our choices and wanted to give up but then we were reminded why we were doing this. Our goal was to give our juniors a memorable welcome in DP and being perseverant was going to bring us closer to our goal and in the end, we’d know that all our hard work and commitment were worth it.
LO 5: Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively
It was great working with a team that was so driven to make this event a success. Even though we’d disagree on certain things at times, we managed to get through it by organizing our ideas and choosing what was best for the event. Working collaboratively has the advantage of allowing everyone to play to their individual strengths and concentrate on what they are good at. This way, everybody was able to meet certain expectations of the event and deliver their best.
LO 6: Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance
The global issue considered here is the collection and creation of waste. This event made use of a lot of resources and to make sure it was sustainable and that we weren’t wasting anything, we made use of old worksheets for envelopes and reused materials available in school for decor.
LO 7: Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions
The last two years of high school are stressful and saddening. We had this event because we wanted to give our juniors a memorable beginning to their final years. I’m so glad we did it because it was so delightful to watch our juniors have fun playing games, dancing with their friends, opening their gifts, and celebrating their first day without any stress of submissions. I’ll always cherish this day and remember the sense of accomplishment this event brought me.
Evidence:
Photos from the event: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1cJsUmQO7k-yrUF7e91q-DoOuQL7wt6dj?usp=sharing