Describe your project. What did you do? How did you do it?

The project I worked on this past year for Tech Team was the Wall of Excellence. I worked with others in Tech Team as it was a group project. The Wall of Excellence is a way to recognize, congratulate, and appreciate what Riverside students, alumni, and staff do to in the community and school environment to create a last impact in a specific category of choice. The Wall of Excellence was a project that started in my grade 10 year and then finally started to pick up pace this year. During this year, the group has had worked on this project by having multiple meetings with teachers, administration, and peers to create a wall that encompasses the true meaning and spirit of Riverside. This past year we have accomplished a lot by creating the criteria, getting input, and having a mild view of the last product of this wall which might be a touchscreen information TV. The Wall of Excellence is definitely on it’s way to be finished quite soon.

What problems did you run into? Were you able to solve these challenges? How did you solve these challenges? Is there anything you would do differently?

There were various problems that varied in degrees. First off, the criteria was the biggest issue since the team wanted to find words that were inclusive of  everything possible, creating this inclusive criteria took the most time in the entire process. Another issue was finding time as a whole team to meet up since everyone is always very busy. Finally, another issue was having enough input from others so that the Wall of Excellence would be something everyone was proud of and felt that they got a chance to voice their opinions upon the creation.

What did you learn? Were you able to learn new skills or strengthen previous ones?

Throughout this entire experience I was able to learn new skills, but also strengthen ones that I previously had. I was able to better my communication skills as I had to articulate what I was thinking, as well as when I was speaking at the staff meeting or emailing the staff as well. Furthermore, I was able to better my leadership skills as I had to take initiative and plan meetings with peers and staff, also as I was the main communicator/emailer in the group I had to be organized and on top of everything. Finally, I would say my creativity skills were improved as I constantly had to think outside the box with the ideas I put forward especially in the way I explained myself to others.

Impact: How might your project positively impact the social and emotional well being of students/our school? What can be done to increase the impact of this idea on the school?

The Wall of Excellence will have a big and great impact on our school because it is there in the first place to recognize people, inspire others, and push people to do more and create change in our society. I already believe that this project will impact the school in a very positive way; however, to create a greater impact I would push through the message of the wall just so more people are aware of it and that way they can actually care for it. Basically, let people know what it’s all about so they can create their own opinion and maybe try and get on to the wall by doing something amazing that inspires them.

Desirability: What could you change to make your project more desirable to students, teachers, administrators, parents or the community?

I believe the Wall of Excellence is already desirable, but there are ways and littler things here and there that we could do. For example, we can make it touchscreen so more people are amazed by how interactive this wall is. As well as, we can spread the word of the wall so more people know about so they can learn the true intentions of this wall allowing them to see the purpose in it.

Integratability: What would you change to make this idea easier to integrate into a school setting?

At the moment I wouldn’t change anything because I believe we are working well with staff and administration to find the best possible way to fit this into our school since we are running out of wall space. Therefore, a physical wall that’s touchscreen may be the best idea for the part of interpretability, but this is all up for discussion with the administration team.

Feasability: Looking back what would you change what would you keep?

At the moment, I would keep everything that we have meaning I wouldn’t change anything. This is due to the fact that our team is very vocal and has great ideas and opinions causing all of us to really think about why we must put something in the criteria this way, or how come we worded a sentence like this and not like that. So, in the end I believe there is nothing to change since as a group we carefully decide upon the smallest detail in every aspect.

What did you learn from being a part of this project?

Personally, I found out more about the skills and aspects it takes to start and create a project like this from scratch as it is quite difficult and time-consuming. Also I have been able to better my communication skills, leadership skills, initiative, creativity, and so much more just by going to meeting and then setting them up to then listening about suggestions and ideas. This project taught me a lot about the power of words as well since words hold a lot of meaning especially certain ones; therefore, we must always be careful on what words we use and the specifics since they can make or break a project like this.