The past two weeks have been great in my work placement, I have managed to experience a wide range of different aspects of the Active Schools remit. I have managed to volunteer at two new events, observe a new club I hadn’t attended before, and help out at the regular P2 football club every Friday.
The first event I helped out at was the Primary 6 and 7 Central Badminton Championships held at the PEAK in Stirling. This event brought together the best players from the Stirling Council area, and Clackmannanshire Council area to compete for places at the national finals to be held in May. On my way to the event I did feel quite nervous as I never knew exactly what I was going to be doing. However, I soon discovered my role during the event was to be a court co-ordinator, where I was responsible for two courts. On these courts, I had to place players on the correct court according to the schedule, oversee each game, and collect the final score.
The more challenging aspects of the day included a few occasions where the players could not agree on the score, or whether the shuttle landed in or out, as they were refereeing their own games. I felt confident diffusing these situations, either through replaying the point, or eventually the players came to an agreement on the score. I thoroughly enjoyed my day at the Badminton and would definitely volunteer at similar events in the future.
At the start of this week, I assisted my mentor Craig in delivering “Come and Try” sessions for Primary 1 and Primary 5 pupils on consecutive days at Riverside Primary School. In the P1 sessions, I lead a station on jumping, working on the pupils’ Fundamental Movement Skills, including balance and coordination. The pupils were generally well engaged, and appeared to be enjoying the relay race-style format, which I found very rewarding.
In the P5 sessions, I again lead a station, this time working on the pupils’ ball skills and hand-eye coordination in a relay-race style. The pupils seemed to relish the competitive aspect of the station, however I was keen to stress the importance of improving their skills, over winning.
Overall, I have had a successful and enjoyable couple of weeks, and hopefully can continue to enjoy my placement work in the coming weeks.
Its good that you are getting the opportunity to take part and attend different clubs! – Ellis
The badminton championships sound fun and it seems like you were able to use good communication and problem-solving skills to resolve any disputes; great employability skills! It’s good to hear that you are enjoying your placement and I’m sure it will continue to be enjoyable until your last day. – Amy
Glad to hear that you are enjoying your work experience and are gaining skills throughout. – Morgan