Family Fun 2
Monday, April 14th, 2025
EVENT PARTICIPATION:
BEFORE:
Leading up to the event I participated in planning discussions that we held to determine what the theme and activities would be, and I was also part of the group that went during ESS to create the cookie dough for the cookie decorating portion of Family Fun.
DURING:
I was a “group leader” for this event, meaning I was functioning as a guide and shepherding the kids from activity to activity. At the beginning of the event, I assisted with set up in the cafeteria (setting the tables up at the front and also borrowing tables from the music room was my contribution), and I was the one who went and found all the kids I was going to be leading (and provided them with their name tags). After that, I was deliberately energetic and engaging with the group of kids, and seeing as there was a wide variation in the age bracket, most of my job consisted of chatting with the oldest kids in an attempt to make the event pleasant for them as well, even though they weren’t as engaged in the activities.
AFTER:
I was away on vacation during all the event post-reflections, and therefore did not participate in any discussions surrounding that.
EVIDENCE + CURRICULAR COMPETENCIES
Connection To Curricular Competencies:
My course goals were to improve on my abilities as a leadership student, and I believe that this event showcased how far I’ve come as as a leader. This time last year, I was still somewhat rigid and not as capable of adapting on the spot as situations required. There was always stress and anxiety whenever anything didn’t go to plan, but now I can confidently say that I’ve gotten to a place where I can take punches in stride and not bat an eye (excuse the mixed metaphor). I can see the areas in which I’ve grown and succeeded at achieving my goals in the little moments, such as the examples below.
EXAMPLE #1:
Action:
Chatting /engaging with the oldest kids beyond the activities to ensure they have a good time as well
Alignment With Course Goals:
Theme 4: Public Relations and Forms of Communication – understand the importance of knowing your audience in terms of how others receive your message
Explanation:
The difficulty with having the oldest age bracket is that some of the kids were in middle school and therefore not entertained by all the activities. As group leader, I wanted to make sure that the event wasn’t a “waste of time” in their eyes, and knew that they would need something to do. That something I offered was conversation with me – I approached them and found connections and topics of mutual interest and began discussing those animatedly (for example, with Ms. Olujic’s daughter Valentina, who is in gr. 8, I discussed how high school is and the benefits/drawbacks of certain courses at Pinetree, and with Ms. Roberts’ daughter Penelope, we bonded over our mutual love for Taylor Swift’s music).
The way I behaved with the younger kids, as well, also relates to this competency, because with them, everything needs to be bright and bubbly, even while they impatiently wait to be released into rooms for egg hunting (while we double checked that the rooms were, in fact, the correct rooms). It was easier with them because they were more entertained by the stations, but there were still moments of keeping their interest while they waited for something, or cajoling them into listening so they could hear instructions or follow me to a new location.
EXAMPLE #2:
Action:
Adapting quickly to a situation, being flexible
Alignment With Course Goals:
Theme 1: Principles of Leadership and Teamwork – Identify positive leadership qualities and negative leadership qualities
Explanation:
I believe that a good leadership quality is flexibility, and that was one that I implemented repeatedly during the event. A key moment that relates to that, however, is when a child showed up without prior notice, and there was no nametag or set group for her. In true leader fashion, I adapted quickly and repurposed the nametag of a kid who didn’t arrive and absorbed the girl into our group (she was the right age, anyway), and she was none the wiser that anything was amiss. That, in my opinion, was one of the most important moments of the night, because if it was handled poorly, it could have ruined the night for someone.
