Hi, friends! Here's where we want you to reflect on your Midterm Pizza Party.
Questions to reflect on:
1. What is your overall review and thoughts of the evening?
2. Evaluate pre-party and during party--what went well? What things would you change? What worked? What didn't?
3. What did you learn from this event?
4. What stood out to you as a take away from this event?
*Next class time, we will have you evaluate your involvement and your team members involvement of planning and pulling off the event. (This evaluation will be individual and only seen by me and James.)
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Overall I thought the evening went well and that everyone had a good time and enjoyed the pizza and games. Pre-party we did have communication between the groups and people did pitch in and try to help. Pre-party we could have had better communication. Having a gift card and good pizza were both things that worked. I would have liked for the teams to have a designation though I did not think so many would leave and we would need to redistribute people anyway. I learned once you feed college students they literary check out. My take away is that when there is not one clear leader of an event and several leaders of groups things can get missed.
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ReplyDelete1. What is your overall review and thoughts of the evening?
ReplyDeleteI think that the overall night went well. Once things got going the stress was diminished compared to what it was prior to the event. I thought it was cool interacting with other students from freshmen to seniors and getting to know them a little more. I also loved the fact that James brought his kids and that they were all about being apart of the games and activities, this shows them that Godly play is for all ages.
2. Evaluate pre-party and during party--what went well? What things would you change? What worked? What didn't?
Pre-party was extremely stressful. I greatly appreciate everyone who helped Dalton and I finish decorating the PSU. I would have liked to not have been setting up while classmates and professors were showing up, but unfortunately classes made that time a crunch. I also think we could have done a better job advertising as a whole. I know some of us mentioned the event to classmates, but getting fliers posted around campus would have been very helpful and getting the invite to the faculty and staff out much sooner as well. Something that worked was finishing the event in a different area. It allowed for the trash in the PSU to be cleaned up quickly, and my group to still participate in the games. It also made it possible for those of us who put the PSU back together go much quicker (Thank you all). I liked the way which the teams were broken up. The table I sat at I knew maybe a couple of others and was able to interact with those I did not know.
3. What did you learn from this event?
I learned that no matter how big or small the role a group has it takes absolutely everyone. It takes communication on all levels and from everyone, not just between group members but between the groups as well. If we would not have had that communication our ideas would not have been able to put to use, or together the way they were.
4. What stood out to you as a take away from this event?
The joy and happiness that was expressed during the event from the class and attendees. I noticed that we all put aside our stresses, and bothers to come together because of passion for God. I like the Godly play example that I noticed. It showed me how important it is to have the generational interaction within the church. There is no age limit for Godly play as we saw with James' kids, all of our classmates and Dr. Kennard participating in our action games.
1. What is your overall review and thoughts of the evening?
ReplyDeleteOverall, I thought the evening went well. There were a few kinks to the event, but it did not ruin the time or make much of a dent. I thought our class did well.
2. Evaluate pre-party and during party--what went well? What things would you change? What worked? What didn't?
What went well for the pre party is that all the groups came together and helped each other prepare from what I could see. What I would change is the timing of things. I know that not everything could be fixed and it probably ran as smoothly as it could since we all had classes, but if it was possible I would have had the preparations done earlier. I think the different groups and our class as a while worked well together.
3. What did you learn from this event?
I learned that it takes a lot of preparation to have everything run smoothly. It also takes a fair amount of time but not too much money to have a decent/good event.
4. What stood out to you as a take away from this event?
As a take away it requires some pushing to get people together to interact. Sometimes it's difficult to come out of the box, but it's worth it. It was also nice to get to know faces and people a little better than I did before.
1. What is your overall review and thoughts of the evening?
ReplyDeleteOverall, I thought the evening went pretty well. I thought that the initial greeting at the beginning was a good way of being able to connect with the other ministry majors. I also thought that it went a lot smoother than I had originally anticipated.
2. Evaluate pre-party and during party--what went well? What things would you change? What worked? What didn't? I thought that the thing that went well with the pre-party was that all the groups helped with the decorations as well as the tear down. I thought that the games went really well and engaged the students. Something that I would change about the event would be that we would have set up a little sooner so it did not seem rushed. However, overall the pizza party seemed to go well.
3. What did you learn from this event?
I learned how to work with others in a group setting because normally I try to work on things individually to get things accomplished.
4. What stood out to you as a take away from this event?
Something that stood out to me as a take away from this event is that not only should we include the students into this type of environment, but also the professors. I thoroughly enjoyed that Dr. Kennard came to participate in the games because it shows that students that are in their early 20s can still interact with older folks in a fun environment. Another take away from this event is that it helped me learn to be flexible with how the night will go because sometimes not everything can be planned.
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ReplyDelete1. What is your overall review and thoughts of the evening?
ReplyDeleteI believe the party went extremely well. I overheard many people who attended the event say, that they were impressed with the set up and the variety of different kinds of pizzas we had. People who came also said it was the best pizza party they had been to, comparing the parties from the past. This I believe is encouraging to hear people say good things about the work WE did. I am very grateful that we could come together as a team and put this event on and be successful.
2. Evaluate pre-party and during party--what went well? What things would you change? What worked? What didn't?
The communication between all the groups was lacking. I believe that my group did a pretty good job of planning out what we needed to get done. Though the entirety of the group was lacking communication, we were able to come together and be successful in the decorations and the games that we played. Clearly I would have more communication between all groups and then I would also have gotten the materials we needed to set up sooner, so we are not setting up while people are walking in.
3. What did you learn from this event?
I learned that we need to do a better job to make sure we are all set up before people walk in. Just make sure our groups can all come together and plan things prior to the event. I also learned that when we all work together and lead together and not just have one person in charge, we can get things done and not have too much tension between groups.
4. What stood out to you as a take away from this event?
We were able to work together and make a successful event even though it was last minute. Involving faculty was also a great idea. The more people involved the better.
1.) I think the party went pretty well and that the group as a whole came together despite some hiccups during planning and made the party a success. The party went well and I enjoyed the whole night and had fun with the older students that came.
ReplyDelete2.)Prior to the party there was some issues that our group had and that I would change. such as waiting til the end to get some things done and changing plans last minute it was just a little aggravating but definitely helped me with the efficiency I have under pressure. We definitely need to meet more often and have more productive meetings than we did for this project in the future. I think we need to work on our group dynamic as well with the distribution of power within the group.
3.) Through this experience i learned that working with others is not as easy as i had originally believed or in the past experienced. I learned that there is a lot more that goes into this kind of things than i thought. It has helped me get some experience with people and with managing my time well.
4.)I think that a good take away for me was that no matter what I do in my field I am going to have to work with people regardless of where it is. ill have to work with colleagues as well as volunteers and i have to find out how to work with difficult people as well as not being difficult to work with.
Updated longer comment:
ReplyDelete1. I thought the evening went very well! many of the upperclassmen were excited to be back and we got a lot of freshmen involved in games. The theme seemed like a big hit, many of the students that attended participated by wearing plaid and I think the decorations were unique especially since we didn't have to pay for them. Some games could have been shorter so people didn't lose interest as quick, but overall I think most people were engaged. Changing rooms was not expected, and I think we may have lost people due to the fact that we brought them away from the food.
2. pre party: it was really neat to see everyone step in and help setup/decorate! One thing I think we could have done better was have the food table ready before the party started. During: I think it was great that we mixed people up for teams and dinner tables, it provided more opportunity to get to know people from different grades, and they loved the active games! One thing we really need to work on as a class is communication between groups. I think this is one strategy we need to work on before MSO.
3. I definitely learned that everyone has a part in leading an event, whether its behind the scenes (which Clay and Dalton rocked) such as setting up chairs, getting pizza, and running music, participating with the guests to get them excited, or being up front and talking. I also learned that planning an event takes a lot more preparation before and during than i expected. We probably could have gotten the word out more, but I was excited about the number of students and faculty that showed up
4. I would love to lead another event like this, as someone who didn't stay long last year I would absolutely come back next year based on this experience. This was also a unique event because it drew us closer as the school of theology and philosophy, especially when there isn't much interaction between grades. I would take away the idea that the more people you have to help out and prepare for an event, the better.
1. Honestly, I don't know how unbiased I am in regards to this event. Personally, I thought it was a little better than the other years that I have attended the pizza party, but. People seemed to understand and enjoy the games despite the slow start, and I think that most people had a great time (even if they left early).
ReplyDelete2. There were admittedly some hick-ups and confusions toward the beginning, but it seemed to work out in the end. Most of the confusion seemed like it was due either to lack of (or mixed up) communication or to starting late. The choice of games worked really well - I think it was a good mix that kept people engaged, but which wasn't one-note either. However, I think that our transitions may have suffered due to our improvisation on some fronts. Most of our class stepped up really well in the moment to compensate (especially Hannah, Judy and Clay), but the event as a whole suffered a little nonetheless.
3. The biggest thing that I learned from this event is the necessity of open communication - both for group role coordination and schedule visioning. One of the biggest problems we faced is a lack of clear vision for how it all would work together in the spaces we were given with the people who came. We had to improvise a lot on order and choice of games to make it all work. I'm not sure what we could have done to prevent all of that, but there must be something. I was also reminded that preparation, planning and set-up of events ALWAYS takes longer than expected. One of the things I really need to work on is willingness to invest more time and attention to planning - especially since I struggle with improvisation in ministry.
4. Again, I think that my biggest take-away is the necessity of spending time for envisioning logistics and cohesion within any given event. It's all well and good for me to help with whatever is necessary, but last-minute adjustments will be fewer and farther in-between if I learn to walk through situations before dealing with them.
1. My overall review of the night is that everyone had fun, the games were cool and people participated. The theme worked out well even though not everyone came in flannel but that is okay because it worked well.
ReplyDelete2. Pre party Noelle and I were getting supplies I think what didn't work was we left later than planned and so we rushed to get back without having everything we needed so time to get stuff would be something I would change. During the party I liked how people were bringing people in and inviting them even before we were officially starting I would have liked to participate more in the games but everything was fun.
3.I learned that running a party takes a lot of work and you have to give yourself time to do things so you don't start freaking out and worrying but it helps when there are others who help to pull it off.
4. something that stood out to me was that we got Professor Kennard to join in and she participated in the games and just helped to make the night even more fun. I also enjoyed seeing Prof. Williamson come to the party and have fun with us. There was a wide variety of age groups and it just helped make the night more fun.
1. Overall I feel like the evening went well. (expounded upon in the next point)
ReplyDelete2. I have been attending this event for the past three years. Truthfully, I felt like our decorations were more involved then in the past. I also felt like the pizza had more options which was lovely. I liked the theme and the gift card to encourage attendance. At the same time, things were already set up at the opening time in years past. I understand that the individuals bringing the supplies were unable to get there in time but I also felt entirely unprofessional because of it. It was also hard because a group of us were there early to make sure everything was set up and the late supplies made it seem like we were not really invested in the party. Additionally, the gym situation made it hard on the games group. Due to the late notice that we would not have a gym, we did not have time to change the games. And because we were in Foster poor Judy spent half the event clearing the floor because events hadn’t been told that we needed the floor clear. I liked that we had a wide open space. In years past I had been weary of some of the games we played in the PSU because of space and I was looking forward to seeing what it would be like to have more. In the end I wish that we had just stuck with the PSU and heard earlier about the change so that we could have had time to change our games. Additionally, I have always been disappointed in the marketing for the event. I come from a business background and I truly wanted this year to be different. The first email people received was not even readable and it went out less then two weeks before the event. That is not enough time for college students planning for midterms to schedule out future events. Additionally, email was pretty much the only marketing form until the school day before the event. I did like that we had a sign up much like what we do for our STP Picnics but this should have been sent around at least a week before the event. These two forms should have been accompanied with at least posters preferable more. Also, I LOVED that we invited faculty. I heard awesome responses from Jane Kennard. At the same time, I received some negative remarks. These were due because the invitation to attend was not extended until a few days before the event. If college students need planning time then faculty definitely does. They have much more to worry about and schedule then us students. Also, the desire for them to back deserts was extended at the same time. Now, not only were the faculty an “afterthought” they were also wanted for something. Having faculty make deserts was an awesome idea but not giving them enough forewarning was not. It looked very unprofessional and I found myself explaining ourselves to a couple of them. I believe if we had had better marketing for both faculty and students we could have had a much better outcome. Pre-party was stressful due to these elements and a lack of communication across teams. I do not believe it was for lack of trying however but I think that this event might not have been as much a priority to some as it was for others. Another thing I liked was that most of the pickup was carried out during the event because we were in different rooms. At the same time there were still things to do after the event and there were not many who stayed to make sure everything got back to its right place. The games themselves I felt were slow at first but then the group seemed to gel and enjoy what was going on. If I were to do it again I would replace some of the more difficult games with something familiar. I also like the idea about approaching individuals from other groups to lead games so that it is not just the games group people doing it the entire time. I also like the idea of making the event an hour and a half. A lot of the people I talked to said that they wanted to stay for the entire time but that 2 hours was just too much to give up during midterm week. Also, if it is possible to make it the week before midterms I would vote for that too.
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DeleteCONTINUED...I believe if both were tried next year, along with better marketing, than more people would come and stay for the entire duration.
Delete3. From this event I learned not to stay within prescribed to-do lists for my group. There were times that I really wanted to do something that was another group’s task and looking back I wish I had just reached out and helped. Sure, I did end up doing this the week before, but perhaps if we had all connected about completing the tasks together weeks before perhaps they could have gotten done and the event would not have been so stressful.
4. My biggest take-away was that the group makes the event. In the case I my group I was blessed. Everyone functioned well together and did their best to make sure that the tasks were completed in a timely manner. Going forward in my ministry I will make sure that the groups I put together all have a commitment to the task at hand and a willingness to function as a group.
1.What is your overall review and thoughts of the evening?
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I was sick and unable to attend actual event.
2. Evaluate pre-party and during party--what went well? What things would you change? What worked? What didn't?
I learned trying to plan an event while going to school full time and working full time is not easy. My group and our times did not always line up very well. I also tried to involve other groups through email and that did not work very well either. I learned a lot of ways not to do things with this party. At one point I did meet with the “leaders” of the other two groups because trying to orchestrate a time for all eleven us to meet would have been near impossible. It was hard enough with just three of us. This is mainly my fault because of my schedule but it was still an issue. Once other teams did get involved it made thigs easier as many were willing to jump in and help get other things done as a team.
3. What did you learn from this event?
I learned plans do not always play out the way you want and backup plans need to be in place and communication needs to be constant and consistent. I was not planning on missing because of illness, we were not planning on not having the gym which messed up everyone’s plan.
4. What stood out to you as a take away from this event?
More time is needed to be put aside in order to throw a successful event. This time is not something I had this semester and many students can say that. Also, open lines of communication need to be available. Email was not a very successful tool for staying in contact with the other teams. Overall the organization get have been better which in turn would have made everything go a little smoother.