I’ve Got to Walk the Talk

I’ve got to Walk the Talk

As an instructor and facilitator for recreational slideshow making, I need to walk the talk. I was inspired by my friend (Where there’s a will, there’s a mean ) to create a video slideshow to celebrate the anniversary of our cohort. With an unexpected turn of events, this is the most significant project I have ever embarked on today. 

Earlier in the year, our cohort had pulled together resources for the air-conditioning of the school hall. As a gesture of appreciation, the school principal invited the whole cohort back as the guests of honour for the Primary Six graduation ceremony. We would present the video slideshow during the graduation ceremony of the class of 2019 and do so in the presence of the teachers and parents.

I was excited about the opportunity to do something different. The target audience was going to be twelve years old girls who would be going separate ways to different secondary schools. The graduation day was scheduled a week before the release of the PSLE (Primary School Leaving Examinations) result. We hoped the slideshow would deliver meaningful messages that shall make a difference no matter what woud be their results.

In hindsight, here are a few tips that worked for me:

1)         To form a project core team to solicit support and feedback from classmates, as one would not be able to do this alone.

2)         To gather old photos and memorabilia to create collages as content for the video slideshow. For instance, these could be autographs of teachers, old school photos and pictures of past gatherings.

3)         To create a mock-up of the slideshow to communicate (via visualisation) how the classmates’ contribution shall fit into the video. The visual illustration would help to encourage participation.

It was a four months runway from conceptualisation to graduation day. There were three face-to-face meetings and many offline exchanges to streamline the flow. Finally, we decided to use the metaphor ‘setting sail’ to relate to leaving the safe harbour (current school) for a new adventure (secondary school).

Never would I have dreamt that I would be back to the school as one of the guests of honour to present this slideshow. I was an ugly duckling then in school and how things have come full circle. I took the stage with pride as I introduced other class representatives. Above all, we were glad to be able to pass on the school spirit, share our experiences and express our love.

In conclusion, I believe we can over challenges as long as I have the right intention, positive messages and love for the school. If I can do it, you can too!