1) What are some things you have learned and/or tasks you have accomplished this semester?
This semester, I focused on the social media team, as the Makers Making Change project was only beginning. I took on the job of communicating on behalf of Rapid Event, sending out and responding to emails. I posted announcements on behalf of clubs in the school, promoted the Christmas hampers, and hosted the holiday-themed Fun Fridays.
In addition, this semester I got comfortable with the Cricut machine. I got the chance to do a couple personal projects as well as help with the Movember masks, really strengthening my skills.
Back in the beginning of the semester, I also helped out with the grade 9 digital boot camp, providing support and problem-solving with the new students.
Finally, I’ve spent quite a bit of time answering questions at the virtual Wave, and although there isn’t too much support to be given in the face-to-face one, I’m happy to have resolved at least a few problems.
2) What aspects of your work were successful?
I would say that the majority of my work this semester was successful. I was very prompt with my communication with the teachers at the school in regards to social media. I even got a few chances to showcase some of the fun events in my engineering class on the story.
3) What aspects of your work were challenging?
There was a time when the social media and leadership teams weren’t communicating enough, so when I would go to post something, I would see that it had already been done. The social media team as a whole was getting quite frustrated with this, as we weren’t sure what was expected of us.
4) What steps did you take to overcome these challenges / what adjustments did you need to make?
Although the period of time mentioned above was a bit awkward, we were able to quickly get it resolved by adding some of the students to the social media team and clearly dividing the roles. All we needed was some extra communication.
5) As Riverside continues to immerse itself into innovation and technology, what do you think Riverside can do to provide support and help for teachers and students?
We’ve already planned to be very clear with the schedule changes in February and provide information about different classes before the course selections go out, so I’d say the social media team is set. As for the Tech Team as a whole, I think we need to have a larger role in the school community as a whole. Although we can’t hold workshops like we did last year, I think we should do something more with the Maker Space. Opening it up to the school and offering to provide support at any time with the tools there could really help kids work on passion projects without feeling like they’re not supposed to be there.
