Prize-Giving Part 1

During training we went to the Prize-Giving of the village elementary school. So I may have explained a little of what Prize-Giving is then. However, here is a refresher. At the end of the year, all the students are ranked in their class according to their overall marks. They are also ranked in their individual subjects and in the overall year level. Prizes are given to the top three students in each class and year level. Sometimes prizes are donated for the individual subjects as well. Prizes are also given out for Most Improved in each year level and Best All Around (or what my teachers all called Best All Rounder). For Year 13, the graduating seniors there are also prizes for Sportsman and woman, Leadership, etc. These prizes are all handed out at a ceremony on the last day of school.

Prize-Giving actually started a month before at my school, when the Prize-Giving Committee (which I was assigned to) drafted letters to send out to local businesses and big-wigs to request donations for the prizes. I helped type the letters and the other members of the committee delivered them. 

After the finish of the junior finals all the form teachers were supposed to create these complex matrixes of student marks called a composite sheet. The composite sheets are used to rank the students and determine who is getting prizes. Hopefully next year this can all be done on computer, as this year most of it was done by hand and that is time consuming. Also, it means you have to double check all the math. This was supposed to be completed on a certain day, which of course didn't happen.

I was in charge of creating the Prize-Giving Programme. To finish the programme I needed to know all the students receiving prizes before it could be printed. I also needed to know all the prizes, as that was supposed to be in programme as well. However, the prizes were slowly trickling in from donors. The day before the event, the committee took the money donated and went shopping for prizes.

Prizes for prize giving are strange. The committee bought mixing bowl sets and knife sets. Some donors gave coffee-makers and one gave a dented, particle-board TV stand (which was considered quite a nice prize). 

Anyway, the prizes continue to roll in during the evening before the event. I was at the school starting at 6pm when the committee got back from shopping adding prizes to the programme. After adding prizes and having it proofread by the committee chair and the pule twice, we started the printing of 100 copies. Cale (who is an angel and came to help) and I finally went home at 12:30 am.

The next morning the Prize-Giving began at 8:30 am. Speeches were made. Prizes were given, starting with Year 9 and moving to Year 13. The DUX of 2008 (which is the same as valedictorian), was also top in many subjects including computer studies. I have the thumbdrives my mom sent in the mail to the top three Year 13 computer studies students and two #2 and #3 in computer studies in Year 12 (the other computer teacher had purchased a trophy for the #1 in Year 12). I also handed out CDs I burned of all the pictures I had taken that year to all my students.

After the prizes were given out there was a fire dance by a Year 13 student and a tausala (dancing for donations). Then there was more speeching and reading out of all the money raised with the tausala. I cut out early with Stephen, the Aussie volunteer, so he could get some movies and programs off our hard drive before he headed home.

— Sara