The end of the school year is one of the busiest days for the teachers. We need to prepare for the most anticipated event in the learners' lives- the graduation day. We want to make them happy on their special day and make it a memorable one. We want to give the best to them and their parents/ guardians as it is a milestone for their respective families.
This year is historical as we are back to conducting the event in a physical setting after two years as mass gatherings in the school are not allowed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A week before the big day, we felt the jitters as we need to attain the way we stage a program in pre-pandemic times. With the leadership of our school head, we were able to commemorate the end-of-the-school-year rites successfully.
I made this post to document my involvement before, during, and after the program. I need to exercise my writing muscles to enhance my teaching of creative nonfiction. The following are the hats I wore for the commencement exercises.
a. Photographer- I am not used to capturing portrait shots. I did camera work when I was a campus journalist in college but only focused on producing action photos. We started the photoshoot in the third week of May. I spent my afternoons dealing with my subjects, background, ring lights, and my phone. I am praying that my learners will like their photos. I enjoyed our DIY photoshoots as I saw their sweet smiles.
b. Layout artist- As the ICT coordinator of our school, I was designated to design and produce our invitation/ program. Being the person in charge of this makes me feel pressured. This task needs accuracy on the content as missing a detail or committing an error can make someone frown. Misspelling or failure to include names is a no-no. Thus, I need to be very careful about this matter. Moreover, this task requires an eye for visual design. Many know that I am not good at the arts. I have a hard time blending colors, and observing all the elements and principles of design. I remember the first time I made a graduation program five years ago. I attempted to produce a trifold program, and the result was not satisfying. I was sorry to my former students about it. This year, I promised myself to make a better product than my previous one. Thanks to Canva for it made my work easy. My favorite part of my layout is the Graduation 2022 borders I made. I am glad that some noticed and appreciated it.
Aside from the program, I also designed the graphics for awarding of diplomas and academic excellence awardees. I enjoyed using background remover of Canva for these designs even though I encountered several problems with it due to intermittent Internet signal. Working late nights and at dawn paid off.
c. Liturgist- For our baccalaureate service, I served as the liturgist as the invited preacher is from the denomination to where I belong. I was praying that I can finish it as I only had a few hours of sleep as I rushed graphics the night before the event. I was nervous as this task requires me to sing with a microphone. I was afraid to be out of tune. I am not good at signing that is why I was really worried. Thank God, I was able to lead the participants. I was able to sing 'The Lord's Prayer' the best way I can.
d. Master of ceremonies- For me, this is the most challenging task I had for this edition of closing exercises. I still feel nervous about this even though I served as an emcee for four commencement exercises of our school. The task requires the presence of mind to make the program in order. Hours before the most exciting part of the school year, the weather was gloomy as Tropical Depression Caloy was forecast to cause rain in the province. In my mind, I made scenarios of what should I do if it will be rainy. We started the ceremonies with drizzles. As we approach halfway, the rain started to pour hard. It was challenging to speak as I needed to compete with the loud sound of the rain. I also needed to make the participants attentive. Big thanks to my fellows in-charge in sounds. We were able to make things audible.
After the event, I did a self-assessment of how I faired for this year. I felt like I was not in my best element maybe because I was tired due to laying out task. But, I was happy that I delivered some remarkable adlibs that I love doing when I host events.
e. Social media admin- After the event, I worked on posting content on our school's Facebook page. My fellows and I under documentation committee had a busy Wednesday night uploading photos and doing posts about the events that transpired during the week. We knew that many are excited to see the captured moments they shared with their loved ones during those programs. I uploaded the graphics we used during the ceremonies. The most favorite content uploaded on our page is the tossing of graduation caps. It gives me a nostalgic feeling of my time when I was a student.
I am happy working with my co-teachers in staging the end-of-school-year rites. It was exhausting, but a fulfilling one as I did my part in making our graduates happy on their special day. Congratulations, class of 2022. I am praying for your success and happiness on the paths you want to cross after high school.
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