When we conceived the idea, we didn't think it would be as hard as it was, however we learned a lot from planning this coffee house and can apply that to planning the next one. We began planning about a month in advance, deciding the dress code and activities and talking with our supervisor, Mr. Arends. Closer to the date we asked performers to perform, and planned and bought the decorations, as well as selling the tickets for 2$. The weekend before a few of us spent hours in the dollar store finding and buying christmas lights and decorations to create the best atmosphere we could. We were very thankful that we had so many volunteers to help bake, set up, perform and take down (about 15.) After school on December 18th, a big group of us went to our black box theatre and began setting up all the christmas decorations, the food, the tech-stuff, and running through what the night would look like. When our guests started arriving, we had a lovely performance of a christmas carol by Julianna, followed by an ice breaker game. In-between our activities there was a home-made photo booth that was a huge hit! We then had another game, where everyone got into groups and had to wrap one person with wrapping paper the most creatively, the winners got a small prize. The rest of the night consisted of socializing, photo taking, magic tricks, and more performances. When people started to leave, the clean up began. We and our many volunteers stayed for about an hour after taking down the decorations, sorting them, putting back everything how we found it, and sweeping. At the end of the night we were all very happy with how the evening had turned out, as it was much better than we had expected.
Our goal with this coffee house, was to have a grade specific event to unify our grade by creating memories as a whole. We wanted a night that people would be excited to come to, and an atmosphere where they would feel comfortable talking to people outside their friend groups. This evening was a stepping stone to achieving our goal. Yes, people did mingle during the event, however it had more of a short term effect. We hope that in the next few to come, people will become more comfortable with each other and that this goal will be achieved by our grade twelve year. One thing specifically that got people talking and making memories together was the photo booth, people from all different groups of friends were using props and making silly faces for the camera. Through this coffee house, we also just wanted to give our grade a good time in the christmas spirit. Towards the christmas break, everyone seems to get fed up with school and tired, so we hoped to give our grade something to look forward to that didn't have grades involved.
Through this whole process, I definitely learned a lot about planning events. I wasn't expecting to be as stressful, or as much work as it was. However it was definitely worth it! We as a group learned to plan out and use the funding more wisely, instead of just on decorations to buy some more food with it, or use half for decorations and donate the other half. We also learned to make a list of things we need to get for it, (ex. earns, pitchers, tables, chairs, technical equipment) sooner, and to have that better planned out before the night of the event. Even though we had a lot of volunteers, we could have had a few more as it would have made setting up much easier with a few more pairs of hands. Also, in deciding themes and dress codes, since we were 50/50 as a group, we decided to do a poll within our grade on what they wanted, and this was a mistake. It set back our planning process by a week, and made a lot of conflict between people and some were unhappy that one didn't win when the other did. We learned that we need to compromise as a group sometimes to make planning events the most efficient.
Next time, we will definitely budget our funding and use it in a better way, as well as be more decisive and efficient as a group. We will have a list of set volunteers that will be expected to help out to make the event run smoother. Now that we have some experience in planning events, we can apply what we learned through this to other events, help people or give tips to people who may be doing something similar and also we learned how much work it takes to put on a successful event, and we have a greater appreciation for those who run them.
CAS Learning Outcomes
Increased their awareness of their own strengths and areas for growth
- I learned through this, in the least prideful way possible, that people listen and look up to me for leadership and guidance, in decorating, performing, questions etc. I learned that because people looked to me for guidance, to try to feel comfortable delegating tasks to people and get the idea out of my head that I'm being bossy. Ex, when we needed more helpers to set up, to find more people and ask them to help and what to do.
Undertaken new challenges
- This was something that I had never done before, planning an event in a small group of people and it was definitely challenging. There was a lot of responsibility that we all had undertaking this and we all had to be very 'onto' of it, especially with costs and managing our volunteers and performers. This was an entirely new experience for me.
Worked collaboratively with others
- There was five of us and one teacher that planned this event. We collaborated on our ideas, and all compromised on some of our ideas to make the event work. It was a struggle sometimes to come to a conclusion in the group, and at times some tension over the month of planning, however we all learned how to better work in a group. We all had many creative ideas and presented them to the group, where we collaborated and worked out how to include them in the event.
Shown perseverance and commitment in their activities
- I felt that I was very committed to this project for the whole month of planning. I attended every planning meeting, talked and organized things with teachers, got the supplies needed as well as some food and drinks. I was setting up and taking down and hosting the night, being sure that activities happened when they did to stay on time, organizing the performers etc. I feel I can say that I was very involved in every aspect of the planning and executing of the event. (I can't speak for the others in the group- this is just my thoughts on myself! Everyone was very helpful!)
Here are some photos of the night!
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| Setting up! |
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| Making the photo booth |
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| Christmas Performances! |
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| Most of our Planning Team |
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| Wrapping Paper contest! |
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| Magic Trick Show |
