Farewell is like a ritual that has been going on ever since our school introduced DP. We had seen several farewells through the years but this time, it was our turn to organise it and the experience was indelible. I was a part of the decor team and we started our work around a month before the event.

LO 2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process

One of the major challenges we faced during the process was the time. Even though we started the work a little later than a month before the event, we had a lot of work on our shoulders. The first setback was getting the resources. We had a tight budget but we somehow managed to finalise designs and decorations that fit the theme i.e. “Retro” and the budget, however, the problem was that it took a lot of time to approve which is why we received the resources late. With minimal time on our hands, we worked in early-in, in free slots or any chance we got to complete the decorations so that we could have all the things on time.

Another challenge I took up was social media. After requesting the school multiple times to allow us to post a few reels on the school’s Instagram page, the school finally permitted us to do so. Social media being my area of interest, I took up the task and worked on it. The reel-making process was very smooth and fun but again, the challenge was to get it approved. After getting the reel rejected 2-3 times because of the song selection, we were finally able to come to a consensus and get the work done. Conversing with different people to get my work done helped me cultivate communication skills and even taught me self-management.

LO 3: Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience

Since we got to know about the theme and all the details very late, we had a lot of ideas flowing in. With every step in the process, someone would suggest something different which would change the whole course of the process. To get more organised, we made a sheet where we put all our ideas and then collectively eliminated the ones we disliked. Finally, we came to a consensus and had all the decorations planned orderly such that the ones that would take more time were given the most priority and the ones that would be quick, were given the least.

LO 4: Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences

Initially, when we started with the decor, it was informed to us by the management that we wouldn’t be allowed to be present on the day of the event and we would go home after doing the decorations. This brought the whole team’s morale down and this was when commitment and perseverance were the most needed. We believed that it was unethical for the school to not let us stay for the event especially when we were the ones who would work tediously to make the event look grand; however, we stuck around and our efforts were appreciated by the management as they allowed us to stay on the day of the event.

LO 5: Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively

With a lot of work on our hands and the clock ticking fast, our best weapon was teamwork. We divided our work so that all the photobooths were taken care of. On D-day, the whole farewell team (dance and games) also joined us and helped us with the rest of the decorations which proved to be very fruitful. It was because we worked together as a team that we were able to complete all the decorations on time and the final results were just awesome. Some things did not go as planned but in the end, things turned out well and the event was a success.