For my CAS project, my team and I organized an event where we invited students from a government school to our school and engaged them in various activities and sports. The goal was to create a fun environment in which the kids enjoy the day with their friends while learning about different sports and activities. My role here was the management of the entire event, checking if the student volunteers from the school are working properly or not, and ensuring if the event is going on smoothly. This experience helped me develop leadership, teamwork and organizational skills which also helped me contribute to the community positively.
LO 1 – Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
During the event, I identified I was good at communicating with the team members and planning. I was able to allocate tasks to all the members efficiently and manage them simultaneously. I realized I had to work on my leadership skills as I did not have any experience about this skill and it was new for me. There were moments where the kids from government schools were not following the rules which were hard to manage. In this event, I learned to adapt to the situation. This project helped me recognize my strengths in management while also showing me the areas to improve upon such as leadership skills and quick thinking.
LO 2 – Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process
Managing an event is one of the most challenging experiences as I have not experienced it before. I had to manage multiple tasks at the same time simultaneously. One of the challenges was to manage the student volunteers as some of them were not clear about the venues they were assigned, this was a challenge as we had to take care of multiple student volunteers at the same time which was very difficult as I had no experience in this field. Another one was managing the students from government schools, students from these schools did not have any knowledge about the activities and the sports they were about to play, they were not clear about the rules and regulations, hence managing them was a difficult and hard task. To address all of these challenges, I developed communication skills by communicating with the student volunteers and assigning sub-roles to everyone so that we can continue the event smoothly. This experience helped me to step out of my comfort zone which would help me in the future.
LO 3 – Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience
This project required planning to make sure that everything went smoothly on the day of the event. My team and I started by deciding which activities and sports we wanted to include, ensuring that they were enjoyable for the children and they were engaged. We then created a schedule and assigned roles to each volunteer, and then we decided the venues for each activity and the incharges at each venue of the event. I played a major role in the team by dividing the roles and responsibilities to each volunteer. Through this event, I learned the importance of planning and preparations before the event and how they could make a positive change in the event. Effective planning helped us avoid confusions and ensured that the activities were conducted in an organized manner.
LO 4 – Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences
Organizing this event required dedication and perseverance. The preparation days involved many meetings, discussions, and coordination with the team and staff. There were moments when things did not go as planned, such as changes in volunteers. Even though we had these difficulties and challenges, I decided to be committed to make sure that this event would be a success and the students from government schools would enjoy their day. During the event, I had to stay alert for any sudden issues in the planning, such as guiding volunteers and helping to manage the kids from government schools. Staying dedicated to the project played a crucial role in making the event successful and enjoyable for the children.
LO 5 – Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively
This project was highly dependent on teamwork as it is not possible to organise an event for many schools individually. It is generally easy for me to work with a team. It is easy to divide roles between many people which increases the speed and efficiency of the work. Working with a team helped me understand the importance of effective communication between team members, as it ensured everyone was aware about their responsibilities and if they had any doubts before completing the task. I also learned how to motivate and encourage my team members to complete a task. There were moments when my team members or the student volunteers were tired working for their roles on a hot sunny day, but I motivated them and helped them complete their tasks. The success of the event was a result of cooperation between a team, and this experience showed the value of collaboration in achieving a goal.
LO 6 – Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance
Getting a good education is a very big problem in various parts of the world, and one of the examples could be the education system in government schools. Kids studying in government schools do not get good facilities to study because of which they cannot reach their maximum potential, this is one of the major global issues in the world. This event allowed us to give them an opportunity to provide them facilities to make them learn and experience new things as well as enjoying different sports and activities with their peers and friends. Through this project, I became more aware about global issues and could think about more ideas about how we could solve the problem of quality education and facilities in government schools. It inspired me to contribute towards equal opportunities for underprivileged children in the future.
LO 7 – Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions
Throughout this project, I had to ensure that my decisions and actions were ethical for the well-being of the children from the government schools. It was important to create a welcoming and respectful environment where the children felt valued and included. I also made sure that all activities were safe and appropriate for their age group. I encouraged student volunteers to interact with the children in a respectful and supportive manner. This experience made me more aware of the ethical responsibilities involved in organizing an event and showed the importance of treating everyone with respect.
To conclude, this CAS experience was a meaningful experience which helped me grow as a leader and helped me understand how to manage and organize an event. Through this event I learned many different things like assigning roles and responsibilities, working as a team, leading a team, etc. Engaging with children from government schools made me realize the importance of the facilities we have right now and what they are missing. This experience helped me contribute to the community in a positive way and strengthened my commitment towards the society. I hope I get more opportunities to contribute to the society in a positive manner so that these children are provided the same facilities as we are.
