Event planning and execution
The herd of balloon snowmen jumped back slightly in the sudden whoosh of air from Ibuki's foam sword slash. "Take that!" he yelled. Ryuki lurched backwards, clearly mortally wounded. The crowd laughed.
The sketch was the final event of the camp. The 15 students — boys and girls hailing from various grade 5 and 6 classes around town — had spent the better part of the last 48 hours learning, interacting, and playing in English. Few of them knew one another at the start, and even fewer were comfortable communicating in English. Now, though, after activities, crafts, stories, and games, target words and phrases rolled off their tongues without a second thought. And they were having fun while doing it!
"The activities should reflect and reinforce the curriculum," I had reminded the executive committee. "And it has to be fun!"
The other members agreed. "Some of the activities from last year could be repeated, but let's make sure we swap in some new ones as well."
The committee — three members from the local Board of Education and three English teachers, including myself — met approximately once a week for nearly two months in preparation of the annual English Camp. The event — completely extra-curricular and only available to a handful of students each years — had achieved a reputation for being both fun and a great resource for budding English learners, so much so that each year, more students applied to attend than there were spots available.
Classically, the city had focused on promoting its ties with a sister city in New Zealand. I was the first Canadian teacher the board could remember, and my new perspective allowed us to expand the scope of the English Camp to a broader, more multicultural experience.
As the final parents arrived at the camp site at the end of the event, the last student to leave lovingly picked up her balloon snowman that she had made at the 'Canada craft booth.' She looked back at us. "Thank you!" she smiled.