April Event – Grade 11 Day — 16 April 2025 

Event Participation: 

• For Grade 11 Day, I was one of three point people in charge of running the event. 
• I was also a point person for Grade 9 day, and I was hoping to use some feedback from both Grade 9 and Grade 10 day to ensure success for the grade 11’s. 
• In the months before the event, there was extensive brainstorming and planning for the event. Lots of this took place over Teams, as well as communicating with the other PP on Instagram. 
• In the latter half of event planning, leadership students were split up into Decor, Marketing, and Selling. I was in charge of managing and overseeing sales. 
• On the event day, I was mainly going around, making sure all the prepared materials were being assembled correctly and the layout of the cafeteria was aligning with the draft we had prepared. 
• As students were coming in, I was managing some of the music and still overseeing LDS students as they set up and prepared their stations. I was also greeting grade 11’s, trying to help them get comfortable and used to the environment. 
• For the duration of the event, I was staying near the right side of the cafeteria, overseeing the “dance floor”, tattoo/glow stick making section, and the photo booth. 
• Afterwards, I and the rest of LDS students took down the decor and rearranged the cafeteria tables back to their spots. 

Curricular Competency: Theme 2 – Self Awareness and Personal Leadership: Fully develop a leadership skills profile for oneself.

I feel that for Grade 11 Day, the curricular competency I focused on directly supports the goals I set at the start of Leadership 11, including becoming more confident in decision-making, communication, and working under pressure. During Grade 11 Day, I had the opportunity to act as a point person again, although I initially had some doubts about leading another big event, especially coming up with the ideas. Taking this step helped me grow significantly in confidence and leadership presence. I realized I had strengths in administrative and organizational leadership roles, and I enjoyed them more than other roles, such as coming up with new event ideas or recreational activities. On the event day, I stayed proactive and adaptable, responding to challenges such as missing decorations and unassembled props by stepping in to problem-solve with teammates. These actions show that I was applying and developing the skills I aimed to strengthen—leading under pressure, collaborating effectively, and learning to take initiative even in uncertain situations.

Actions Taken: 

BEFORE EVENT

• We started brainstorming ideas at the end of February. There was also a brainstorming/ideas form sent out on Teams after the Feb 26th meeting. We didn’t have too many solid ideas, and leadership students were encouraged to go around asking their Grade 11 friends what they would like to do for Grade 11 Day. At the time, we wanted to incorporate some sort of ‘casino’ element, since it was such a huge success with the Gr 10’s. 
• Throughout March, we slowly strayed away from the casino idea and focused more on a glow-in-the-dark themed “party”. 
  • We only had one meeting in march, and that was before spring break. This was when the ‘theme’ was established, and some activity/event ideas were in the works. 
  • Students were reminded before and during spring break to keep in mind the upcoming event, and that posters/promotions would be needed as soon as we got back from break. 
  • At this point, we had only thought of the ideas of mini-games/stations and hadn’t had any concrete ideas (during the break).
• Before school started again, there was an announcement made on Teams to split the students into groups for specialized roles, as well as a reminder that there were going to be meetings held for specific groups as well. 
  • Posters and reels were created during spring break, completed to be put up and posted right as we got back from break. 
• Throughout the first week back, I gave the students in the selling group some time to complete a Form about their availability in the next week. 
  • Selling schedules were posted the next week, and students showed up accordingly. 
  • We sent out 2 reels, had posters and leadership students around the school, and also had announcements going out during the week of selling. 
• In the first 2-3 days, ticket sales remained low, maybe 10-15 each day. However, sales soon picked up in the latter half of the week. 
  • We ended with around 90 tickets sold by the event day. Our benchmark of success was more than 75 tickets sold. 
• The layout of the cafeteria was also sent out in the Gr 11 Day channel, mostly used as reference for the decor team. 
• Grade 11 Day LDS students met one last time before the event on Tuesday, April 15th during lunch. We went over the event details, the individual roles, and answered any questions students had. We also finalized some of the logistics of the event and made last minute adjustments wherever needed. 
  • There was a slight mishap where the decorations prepared for the photo booth were accidentally thrown out. Hana, Epshie and I all met afterschool to try to create new decorations, and eventually, the photo booth was set up again. 
  • I also sent out one last Teams announcement with all the students’ roles for the event.

DURING EVENT 

• On the event day: At the beginning of block 5, I went to the EAL office to pick up all the materials for the event from Mr. Mac. I also met Lincoln, and we brought down the materials to the caf. We began setting up the caf as leadership students arrived 
  • Setting up tables in the impulse room
  • Clearing up the tables from caf into the impulse room
  • Setting up mini stations 
  • Assembling glow-in-the-dark props/accessories 
  • Music and lights 
  • Glow in the dark tape on the floor 
  • Set up candy buffet 
  • Decor team on finishing the photo booth 
• Some issues we ran into: 
  • LDS students realized we had not assembled the glow-in-the-dark props/materials beforehand, so many students scrambled to help set them up 
  • We also realized we did not allot a section of the cafeteria for the students to put down their backpacks 
  • When they came in, one student accidentally broke the glow stick, and got some of the inside in her eye. Fortunately, it wasn’t a major issue and it was dealt with.
  • Lots of details for the props and activities (scavenger hunt) were put together at the last minute. 
• Students took around 5-10 minutes to trickle in and they all seemed to be enjoying the environment and conversing with each other. 
• The twister station was very popular, and the tattoo station was turned into a makeshift glow-accessories craft station. 
• The candy buffet was a great idea and many students enjoyed having their own choice of treats.
• Attendees seemed to be enjoying the party environment, and they were also fans of the photo booth. 
• The scavenger hunt followed, and many students were engaged and excited to compete for a prize. A competitive game-style activity was favored with this event, something to note for future events. 

AFTER EVENT 

• After the event, I checked in with some of the Grade 11 attendees and got feedback about the event. 
  • Most students said that when they entered, they first noticed the broad/empty cafeteria space, but soon found stuff to do.
  • Maybe have the candy buffet and glow-making station further away from each other, because it soon got very crowded. 
  • The scavenger hunt ended very quickly, also many students were not aware that the scavenger hunt had ended. one of the elements of the scavenger hunt was not prepared, so it had to be scratched off. 
  • There were no chairs already set out, or tables so the students and LDS had to set up chairs for students to eat. 
• Post-event feedback during LDS meeting: 
  • We found that we could improve the timing/sequence of events, such as adding more activities before the scavenger hunt/food. Many people enjoyed twister, but they were bummed out that there was only one game going on. 
  • Leadership students said that there was good participation for all events/mini-activities. 
  • We also said that for marketing, there should be more push that Monday through Friday was the only period of time for marketing, so there are no last-minute sales.

Specific Example 1: 

• Strategic decision-making and adaptability 
  • Helped shift the event concept from a casino theme to a glow-in-the-dark party after reflecting on student interest and past event feedback. 
  • Helped create and share a detailed cafeteria layout and role assignments to ensure the event ran smoothly. 
  • Solved a last-minute issue with photo booth decorations by collaborating after school with teammates to quickly rebuild the setup.

Specific Example 2: 

• Effective communication and collaboration 
  • Actively communicated with team members via Teams and Instagram, helping coordinate meetings, poster deadlines, and sales schedules. 
  • Managed and led the sales team by setting up a form, building a schedule, and ensuring announcements and reels were timed effectively. 
  • Greeted Grade 11 students, helping them feel welcomed and comfortable in the event space.

Specific Example 3: 

• Working under pressure and building confidence 
  • Oversaw the event layout, setup, and student-led stations on the day of the event, making real-time decisions as problems arose. 
  • Responded to unexpected issues calmly and responsibly, supporting both peers and participants. 
  • Took on a point person role despite previous hesitation, reflecting my personal growth and a stronger sense of confidence in leadership roles.

Reflection, Feedback, and Next Steps: 

Overall, the first Grade 11 Day event at Pinetree was very successful. We had great attendance, engagement, and feedback as well. Some things to note for future Grade 11 Day events:

• The idea/theme should be finalized over a month before the event day. This way, we have a “keyword” to spread among students before the actual promotion starts.
• All event activities, games, and recreation should be finalized into one comprehensive list well in advance (before buying materials, before assigning roles, etc.)
  • The list should include: 
    • An explanation of the activity
    • What a LDS student’s role would look like (how they would manage organizing and facilitating the activity)
    • How it would be set up
    • How long it would run for
  • This list should also be shared with the rest of the Gr 11 Day LDS students, so they can give feedback, insight, and input more or better ideas to it as well.
    • I found that on the event day, many LDS students knew the general idea of their station/activity, but the finer details had not been established, so lots of people were confused during set up.
• A meeting dedicated to discussing the activity ideas would be beneficial. This way LDS students can contribute ideas, maybe point out some areas where those finer details are missing.
  • We did NOT do this for Gr 11 Day, we mostly had a meeting where we came up with the ideas, then another one going over roles. Some trial and error/feedback would have been very beneficial. Perhaps this was a “leadership”/”teamwork” element that was missing during the prep for this event.

Pictures