Planning A Project or Event
Follow these steps to ensure that your event is well organised and meets the criteria for Service Learning.
Investigation:
Conceptualise your Service Learning idea:
Socially analyse your selected issue by considering your strengths, skills, talents and areas of personal growth; identify and confirm a community need, perhaps in consultation with a designated Community Partner.
Preparation:
Design a service plan that clarifies roles and responsibilities, identifies resource requirements, and has a timeline to successfully implement the plan: see the Project/Event Plan below for in-school projects.
Consult with the Community Partner
Do some research to develop the knowledge and skills you will need for the experience.
Identify whether your service is direct, indirect, advocacy or research, or a combination of these? Individual, with a partner, or in a group?
In-School Project/Event Plan:
Register your idea with the Stewardship Committee in your section of the School to decide on an appropriate date in the Calendar.
Casual Dress Days and all fund raising need to be approved by the Service Coordinator whom advises the relevant Heads of School.
Complete a Risk Assessment and pass this onto the Service Coordinator and relevant Head of School for approval. Please see the sample Risk Assessment for the International Food Fair.
Check if students and staff require a Working With Children Registration to participate in the Action component of the project. For further information about this, contact: the Risk and Compliance Officer(Mark Natoli), or Karina Churchill.
If students are leaving the School campus a permission letter/email home is essential. This has to be proof read and approved by the Service Coordinator and then a Head of School, and distributed via Operoo.
At least one to two weeks before the event, advertise on campus TV screens, in the Seqta Student Notices and with posters to raise awareness with students about your event and how it will make a difference. Speak to your campus office administrators to assist with this.
Send an email to: Primary School Mark Febey, Middle School (Liesa Winkler), Senior School (Karina Churchill), or Amy Harris (Amy Harris),/ (Adam Chambers),Adam Chambers and CC'd to the Service Coordinator in your Section of the School with a notice for What’s On by 2pm on the Wednesday a week before the activity.
If there is food involved - notify the Canteen at least a week earlier (possibly via your Head of School) - display a list of ingredients, wear a hat/hair net and gloves when serving and keep food at the right temperature. Contact the Risk and Compliance Officer or Karina Churchill for Food Handling Guidelines.
Where appropriate, contact the organisation and arrange for a guest speaker to present at Collect or Assembly. Consult with Mark Febey, Liesa Winkler/Lindy Gannon, (Karina Churchill), or Amy Harris/Adam Chambers well in advance to arrange a suitable date for the speaker. Arrange for a student to introduce the speaker and also one to thank the speaker.
Contact Focus teams to take photos on the day and notify Holly Chilman and Bill Avery of your event. If you are writing an accompanying article for the Rose and Waratah, contact Holly Chilman, or for FOCUS contact Susie Cretan. Contact details for Echoes and FOCUS can also be found under Community Partners.
If money is involved, organise the card reader or a float at least two to three days before the event by contacting Accounts in the Finance Department. For a Casual Dress Day liaise with Campus Office staff to organise the small yellow envelopes and a tutor group or class list to be placed in Tutor folders or equivalent the day before, if required. Follow through by delivering the money raised to your campus Office (Senior / Middle or Primary School) or directly to Accounts, explaining what it is for, and asking for it to be counted and secured.
All venues and equipment need to be booked. Contact Christine Palmer orHannah Legge for venues bookings and events to be Google Calendared, and Jane Smith for Foods equipment booking requests.
Action:
Implement your service plan.
Consider opportunities for reflection throughout your Service Learning Project.
Follow up with thank you letters or cards for any people that have assisted after the event.
Reflection and Demonstration:
Examine your thoughts, feelings and actions as you engage in the Action component of your project, where appropriate, and afterwards.
Demonstrate what and how you have learned and what you have accomplished by reflecting on your Service experience in a formal or informal manner. Find guides to reflection under Templates for Student Reflection, or you may want to demonstrate your reflection in other appropriate ways.