Investigation: 

I was honoured to be part of the planning, music and decorating aspect of prom planning. Not only that, I took the initiative to design the prom tickets and suggested a few prom theme. The prom committee worked closely with the student counsellors from the choice of venue to setting up the venue. Besides that, I helped the committee by gaining insights from the seniors on their concerns, wants and needs. We settled with Red Carpet theme for the seniors prom. The investigation was challenging as making decisions to accommodate everyone can be uncertain and requires a lot of communication amongst the prom committee. 

Preparation: 

My primary role was building playlists that can be played during the day of the event. We visited the venue to have a closer view and how we would want to set up. On the other hand, I designed the senior gifts and suggestions to the materials that was used for the decorations. For the playlists, I used Spotify as it is one of the most convenient music application and many teenagers use it. Whereas for the senior gifts and prom ticket, I used Canva which was very useful since they have different templates and stickers while I seek guidance from my art teacher on where we could search for art materials. 

Action: 

Using Spotify as playlists, I created 3 playlists that which were labeled as Upbeats, Sway and Ballroom. I shared Upbeats and Sway to one of the seniors and the student sent it to their cohort group chat. I changed the settings so that they can be the collaborators of the playlists which they can have the freedom to add songs. The playlist that was used most were Sway and Ballroom. This process was very convenient since I am familiar with this media. 

To create the senior gifts design, I looked up at some graduation and prom icons as inspiration. I made a few designs that the prom committee can discuss and agree upon. I would say that it was tedious considering that I have to search through many patterns because the patterns I want are not always available in Canva and Google pngs may not have the best resolution. However, I was still able to work with what Canva and Google have. For the prom tickets, the process of designing was fun. I let my creative juices to flow in the making of it with Canva. I looked at Pinterest as to what Red Carpet theme prom should have which I can add on the design o the tickets.  I sent the design to one of the student counsellor since he wanted to add a QR code on the design which can be scanned as attendance for the guests during the prom day. 

To create the decorations, I seek advice from my art teacher as he has experience in stage decorations for school events. He often use styrofoam as one of his materials thus, he recommended the desired thickness that is appropriate for our design. Since my group of friends are also part of the prom committee, we brainstormed together the design that we want for the decorations. Besides that, we also ask around about the colours of balloons for the theme. We had fun painting and adding glitters to the styrofoam. I would say that writing the fonts on the paper requires patience and having to bring the decorations to the venue was nerve wrecking as we did not want it to break because styrofoam are not really durable and can be quite flimsy. 

In March, we went to Marriott Hotel Sukhumvit as it was our confirmed venue. Afterwards, we went to King Tong Stationery to purchase the needed materials for the decoration! 

A few hours before the event, we set up the venues with the decorations. 

Reflection: 

When we agreed upon having a DJ, I thought that I could send the playlist that I have to her. Unfortunately, it was a change of plans as the seniors have their own playlist that was sent to the DJ and it was a struggle since we had to discuss with the seniors regarding the songs being played. Nevertheless, I was able to play the songs with the playlists that I have during the beginning of the event. Despite looking forward in designing the prom tickets and senior gifts, I felt there were so many designs in my head that I was imagining that made me feel conflicted. Having second opinions from others really helped me during the process. This project taught me to be more resilient, patient and open-minded to ideas as well as working with others.  

Learning Outcomes: 

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

• 4: Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences

• 5: Demonstrate the skills and recognise the benefits of working collaboratively

Investigation:

Aspiring to be an art teacher, I decided to take up a role as an assistant teacher as my internship during the second semester of my senior year where I signed up for the High School Student Teaching Assistant Program. By taking up this opportunity, it allowed me to share my knowledge and communicate with students effectively. Furthermore, I was able to work closely with my Visual Arts teacher and learn from his expertise. 

Preparation: 

Firstly, I discussed my interest in this internship with my Visual Arts teacher and received approval from my school's CAS coordinator. During my free periods, my teacher and I would discuss the plan of the week for the High School art class so that I have a gist of what they will be learning for those days. I thought that guiding the high school art class would be a great choice as they are learning mediums where I have learnt before and it would be during my free periods on every Monday. Since I have always been accustomed to smaller classes, I felt quite nervous upon knowing that there would be more students. Nevertheless, I was glad that my teacher would also be there to guide the class. Besides that, there were some projects that my teacher thought I would be interested in such as sustainable donation and decorations for the art room. 

Action: 

As mentioned, I would attend class on every Monday from 1:15pm to 2:45pm and start to take attendance. One of the students was absent and missed a quiz so I had to ensure that the student have only the Google Form as his only tab and completing the quiz during the given time. Besides that, I walked around the class and observe the progress of each students have made for the class work such as collage and political cartoon. Whenever a student is completed with their work, I would ask them to look at a checklist to ensure that they have met all the criteria  and included everything they could. What I enjoyed during those moments was that I was able to communicate and understand their intentions of their work as many students have different ideas from one another. However, there were times where students were distracted and misbehaving in class so I had to speak to them about it and ensure that they carry on with their work. 

Other than being in class, I also took up projects that would help the Wells community and decorate the entrance of the art room. I began with the sustainable art donations where the Wells community are able to donate items that are no longer in use where I labelled 3 bins with labels and posters so that they are able to place specific items into. This was done through Canva as it provides various templates where I can customise the design of each posters. Whereas for the decorations, my teacher and I looked through Pinterest to brainstorm ideas on how we can decorate the entrance of the classroom. We decided to have squares that overlaps one another and have the word which were made out of origami and coloured papers. As there were many colours, I decided to incorporate complementary and tertiary colours as it is one of the fundamental knowledge when learning art. 

Reflection:  

Duration: 29 January to 29 February 2024 

From this experience, I was able to put myself in the shoes of teachers and learn more about their roles. This allowed me to share my knowledge and understand the different needs of students. Since they are high school students, I found it easier to communicate with them although I encountered difficulties in keeping their focus on the given task. With the variety of approaches in doing the works, I was intrigued by their creativity which made me want to find out their thought process. Although this internship was during my free period which I typically work on my artworks, it turned out to be a great decision and an enjoyable experience. Besides that, I was able to work on projects that benefit the Wells community which I am happy to do so. 

Take a closer look of what the Wells community are able to donate! 

Learning Outcomes: 

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

• 4: Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences

• 5: Demonstrate the skills and recognise the benefits of working collaboratively

• 7: Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions