Farewell is kind of the last fun thing that happens before the IB exams. It has also been witnessed that people tend to get emotional during this event. Since, it is one of the most memorable events, I decided to help make it one of the best day of the students’ life. I was in the Decoration team. It is very important to have a good venue because it helps creates a good ambiance. And considering there is going to be a lot of photography to capture memories, it has to be ‘grammable’.

LO1:  Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth

My strength is the artistic part. Art is my preferred pastime and I have practised it enough to call myself competent for the same.  I can humbly say that my artistic skills were an asset to the group. Also, the generous amounts of time spent on pinterest definitely helped the ideas to generate.  It is important to know your strengths and weaknesses because you can create your plan of action accurately, which guarantees success in any work you do.

LO2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process

The challenge here was time management. Time was against me in every way possible. I had just appeared for my SAT and lead a couple other events which ate away my time from studying. Hence I had to juggle between planning for farewell and studying for my very important and impending exams which was only a week away.

Initially I was the head of the department, but considering the above mentioned situation, I decided to step down from it. I still was in the group and played my part religiously and helped in all the forms: coming up with ideas and executing the same but not being the head took a lot of stress off my back and helped me focus on both the things.  I believe it is important to take up new challenges or learn new skills constantly as it helps you grow as a person and be a lifelong learner.

LO3: Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience

I am not perfectly organized but at the same time I am not chaotically unorganized person, I am a mediocrely organized. This was helpful with planning as I had a pretty clear idea of what had to be done. And the venue itself was quite organized.
Planning was done by me here, at 2 stages. I had to plan and organize my time, as in how much of it I allocate for the event and planning the decoration for the venue. Both were rather difficult because, at times, I tend to go with the flow. But this situation didn’t allow me to do that, every minute had to be spent productively. It was rather comforting in a way to have my plan of action laid out and not worry or think about what next? I think I will try to do this more often.

LO4: Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences

It was difficult to remain committed to this activity because as said before my exams were nearing and they were to comprise my 60% of the predicted grades on which my admission to colleges is decided. Many times I was struck by the thought of devoting my time to studying. Hence, it did take a lot of commitment and perseverance to finish my tasks for the farewell.
It is usually easy for me to commit to things and persevere if I know their importance. I knew this event might be some of the fondest memories that the graduating students will hold when they think back of the school days. Therefore, I did my best. Showing commitment and perseverance is important for success.

LO5: Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively

Working in teams is not at all easy for me. I prefer working alone and I feel it works best for me. Interacting, during this activity, definitely wasn’t a cakewalk but it was easier compared to before. I am developing these skills, all thanks to CAS. Getting tasks done from other people was possible for me. Everybody was friendly and the event went quite smooth. Working in teams is becoming very important in today’s times as to thrive in a global world, even an talented individual can’t win against a group of talented individuals. Working collaboratively with others helps share the creativity and ideas and come up with something which is beyond the capabilities of an individual. “Teamwork makes the Dream work.” And during this process, I was able to become friends with some of my team members which is a good sign.

Despite its difficulties Farewell 2018 was the huge success and everybody agrees that the Decoration was the best part 🙂