Katilympics 2014
What would you do if life at school was getting mundane? What if every week was the same hustle & bustle into the classrooms for lessons delivered while you were seated like a lovely puppet doll? What if it has been like this for months already?
I'm sure you'd get this little itch. It starts as a small one. Then, it becomes bigger & bigger & bigger until, eventually, you've just got to scratch it.
Often times, our students are Bored & we're only making things worse.
When students are bored, they will do all sorts of things to amuse themselves.
Which is why boarding schools have activities all year-round. Perhaps they do this because of PBS: Penilaian Berasaskan Sekolah Sebelah.
Whether intentional or not, having programmes all year-round occupies students & distracts them. It gives them the opportunity to expend the inexhaustible energy they tend to possess. With such an outlet, students rarely have the time nor the energy to cause discipline problems or mischief.
After all, an idle head is the devil's playground.
During the 2 years I was Chief Warden, I understood this very well. Therefore, I made sure there was 1 sporting event per semester which all hostel students had to train for. One in the middle of the year & one at the end of the year. I worked with my team of dedicated wardens to organise the Sukan Asrama (Hostel Olympics) in 2011 & 2012. I was also continuing a tradition left for me by my predecessor whom I deeply respect, Cikgu Nicholas Vicky.
This is an event which my students thoroughly enjoy. At the same time, I had the opportunity to teach them about discipline, teamwork & sportsmanship. Killing many birds with one stone. Efficiency at its best!
Now that I'm no longer Chief Warden, I passed the tradition on to my successor. However, due to certain circumstances, the Hostel Olympics were not carried out. Also, it has been a quiet year for the students without any big events.
I felt sorry for them because they were coming up to me & asking if I would organise something for them. So, I decided to organise the Katibas Olympics or the Katilympics.
The students were eager & they were excited. I did not want to disrupt their academic lessons so I decided to hold the event on a weekend when all students would stay in the hostel.
Since it was a weekend, I decided not to trouble the teachers. It would be highly inconsiderate of me to ask them to forfeit their valuable weekend's rest for a programme which does nothing but bring me glory.
Therefore, I enlisted the help of student leaders. After getting the admin's approval to run the programme, I appointed students leaders in the various Sports Houses & told them to appoint their lieutenants. I entrusted them with the responsibility to train their peers, prepare the venue as well as officiate the games. This they did perfectly. I'm so proud of them.
Also, I would like to acknowledge 2 teachers who volunteered to help out during the event. They were proactive & their involvement made the programme even more meaningful to the students. A big round of applause for Cikgu Florinoya & Cikgu Sunita.
In July 2014, we organised the Katilympics.
What was the expenditure of this event, you ask? The answer is... Nothing.
I selected games with existing infrastructure & essentials which were easily available.
Students just wanted to play & de-stress so there was no need for prizes. The event was a prize on its own & everyone was rewarded!
I did table the Sports House scores for the various games & hand them over to the PK KoKo. It's up to him to decide how he wants to use the scores. I suggested that he merged them with the scores from the soon to be organised Sports Day with track & field events.
Sometimes organising a school-wide programme is easier than one might think & at very little to no cost.
I'm sure that you can do the same for your school. Think simple, meaningful & impact-ful.
I have sated the itches of my students... for now... =)
View all the pictures of the event here.
I'm sure you'd get this little itch. It starts as a small one. Then, it becomes bigger & bigger & bigger until, eventually, you've just got to scratch it.
Often times, our students are Bored & we're only making things worse.
When students are bored, they will do all sorts of things to amuse themselves.
Which is why boarding schools have activities all year-round. Perhaps they do this because of PBS: Penilaian Berasaskan Sekolah Sebelah.
Whether intentional or not, having programmes all year-round occupies students & distracts them. It gives them the opportunity to expend the inexhaustible energy they tend to possess. With such an outlet, students rarely have the time nor the energy to cause discipline problems or mischief.
After all, an idle head is the devil's playground.
During the 2 years I was Chief Warden, I understood this very well. Therefore, I made sure there was 1 sporting event per semester which all hostel students had to train for. One in the middle of the year & one at the end of the year. I worked with my team of dedicated wardens to organise the Sukan Asrama (Hostel Olympics) in 2011 & 2012. I was also continuing a tradition left for me by my predecessor whom I deeply respect, Cikgu Nicholas Vicky.
This is an event which my students thoroughly enjoy. At the same time, I had the opportunity to teach them about discipline, teamwork & sportsmanship. Killing many birds with one stone. Efficiency at its best!
I felt sorry for them because they were coming up to me & asking if I would organise something for them. So, I decided to organise the Katibas Olympics or the Katilympics.
The students were eager & they were excited. I did not want to disrupt their academic lessons so I decided to hold the event on a weekend when all students would stay in the hostel.
Since it was a weekend, I decided not to trouble the teachers. It would be highly inconsiderate of me to ask them to forfeit their valuable weekend's rest for a programme which does nothing but bring me glory.
Therefore, I enlisted the help of student leaders. After getting the admin's approval to run the programme, I appointed students leaders in the various Sports Houses & told them to appoint their lieutenants. I entrusted them with the responsibility to train their peers, prepare the venue as well as officiate the games. This they did perfectly. I'm so proud of them.
Also, I would like to acknowledge 2 teachers who volunteered to help out during the event. They were proactive & their involvement made the programme even more meaningful to the students. A big round of applause for Cikgu Florinoya & Cikgu Sunita.
In July 2014, we organised the Katilympics.
 |
| Everyone was cooperative & supportive of the first major event at school that year. |
 |
| There was a Football competition for the boys. |
 |
| There was a Sepak Takraw competition for the boys. |
 |
| There was a Volleyball competition for the boys. |
 |
| There was a Netball competition for the girls. |
 |
| There was a Futsal competition for the girls. |
 |
| There was a Volleyball competition for the girls. |
I selected games with existing infrastructure & essentials which were easily available.
Students just wanted to play & de-stress so there was no need for prizes. The event was a prize on its own & everyone was rewarded!
I did table the Sports House scores for the various games & hand them over to the PK KoKo. It's up to him to decide how he wants to use the scores. I suggested that he merged them with the scores from the soon to be organised Sports Day with track & field events.
Sometimes organising a school-wide programme is easier than one might think & at very little to no cost.
I'm sure that you can do the same for your school. Think simple, meaningful & impact-ful.
I have sated the itches of my students... for now... =)
View all the pictures of the event here.
