PROM

27th March 2010,

For the first time at OSC in many years, we decided to have a Prom for the two IB grade levels – Grade 11 and 12. The event was held at the Galle Face Hotel on the 27th of March. There were four of us who headed the Prom Committee – Grace (President), Ayla (Secretary), Yiseul (Treasurer), and me (Vice-President).

Goals:
- Organize the first prom at OSC.
- Have at least 40 in attendance.
- Make the event a success so that we would be able to repeat it next year, so that it will become an annual event.

The prom was a quickly planned event, as we had to hold it on the date that Grade 12 said would be most suited to them, which was the end of March, and we only got full permission to go ahead with the project in early February. However, it did not require too much planning, as it was a matter of booking the hall, selecting the food and selling tickets, so we were able to pull it off. The tickets were priced at Rs 3500, as this was slightly higher than the cost of the food and the hall, and we were also forbidden from fundraising in any way so there was no way for us to subsidize the cost. This price is quite expensive, especially in Sri Lanka, and hence we had a lot of problems getting people to come as they were not willing to pay so much money to come to the event. Which is why I had set the goal of having 40 people there – as the hotel needs to have that many people to give us the room.

On the day of prom, there was very little for us to do, as the room had already been set up by the hotel; and it looked beautiful, we were all shocked when we walked into the room. All we had to do when we got there was do a sound check for the DJ, and make sure they could get all their equipment set up.

By the end of the night, I think that everyone had a good time – everyone was up and dancing. It was a really fun event and we pulled it off well. I’m proud that I could have been part of the process, and with it I completed all my goals, even though it was very stressful. The hardest part of the entire process was trying to get people to come, as many said that the price was too high. Yet in the end, we pulled it off, and it was a success.

CO-MUN 2010.

Conference: 5 - 7 March 2010

Co-MUN is one of the largest student run Model United Nations in the world. With over 500 delegates and administration staff participating from various schools around Sri Lanka, as well as students from schools in Pakistan and India. Each year, there are a certain number of students appointed to the organizing committee to organize this massive event. These students are also required to chair a committee, which requires them to have control over a certain group of students while they are debating. This year, I was the vice chair of the second committee, along with helping to create the souvenir, and various essential jobs.

Goals:
- Run and workshops practice debates, make sure that they go smoothly.
- Put together the souvenir.
- Make sure that the conference goes smoothly with as little glitches as possible.
- Work hard enough to earn the position of Secretary General for CO-MUN 2011.

Planning for CO-MUN 2010 began in September, with the appointment of the organizing committee. Over the six months that we had to plan the event, we ran practice debates and workshops, where we help delegates prepare for the actual conference in March; as well as getting things ready so that the materials for the delegates for the three days that they are in conference are ready. Meetings would take place at least once a week, so that everyone was up to speed on everything that was going on, and that everyone knew what each other had done so that nothing was doubled and nothing missed.

The week before the CO-MUN conference was the most stressful week in my entire year – I would get home at 9pm, after setting up the school so that it was ready, with the banners of the companies that sponsored us, making sure that the rooms were set up correctly, all the placards in place, all the materials ready for the delegates in the morning of the first day of the conference.

The conference days went off tremendously well, however, as with anything, there were minor problems, such as placards in the wrong places, and not enough chairs; but on the first day problems like this are inevitable. Another problem was that the committee that was in the gym was very uncomfortable all the time, as there was no A/C and suits and heat do not go well together, making many people very uncomfortable. Other than this, there were not many glitches, and even on our last day of conference at Water’s Edge, although there was a lot of last minute panic, we managed to pull it off and the staff there were very helpful in making us be able to reach our deadline.

Overall, I think that I managed to meet all the goals that I set for myself: there were not many problems in the conference itself; no major disasters, which is always an optimistic goal to have. Also, myself and two other people managed to create the souvenir and get it to the printer on time, so that it was available to the delegates in their package which they received on the first day. In addition to this, I was made the Secretary General of CO-MUN 2011, which I am very happy about, because I have worked hard to get there – next year would be my third year of being on the MUN Organizing Committee, and fourth year in MUN as a whole, as a was a delegate in my first year.