My Social Action Plan

Consider the effectiveness of the project, considering each component and reflecting on your learning experience as well as the impact on the school or community.

I felt that from a business point of view the marketing side of the project was very effective, the project gives the school great exposure to the members of the community. The aim of the project was to create awareness of the Grade R classrooms that they offer at the school, the sign is visual and colourful so it is eye-catching and draws attention to the school building. I find this is hugely effective as a marketing tool. The other project areas are focused on the children and their learning, the flower wall, road and doll house windows all create opportunities for learning outside the classroom. Using things like fantasy play, free play, literacy on the wall, fine and gross-motor skills etc. All the aspects of the project affected the school, the learners and the community in an effective way.

How has service-learning changed you personally?

I really enjoyed doing the service learning, it made me aware that you don’t need to spend a lot of money to make a school look beautiful. There are many different options, donations, sponsors etc. that can provide you with the materials like paint and wood and then it just takes your time and effort to make it beautiful. It also made me realise the other side of teaching, creating an inviting environment is so important for the wellbeing on the school.

How has service-learning developed you professionally? What new knowledge, skills

and/or attitudes have you gained?

It opened me up to the marketing and financial side of a school committee, there are a lot of other aspects that promote a school other than the teachers and principle. I’ve learnt a lot about marketing and the skill of marketing to people to gain exposure, schools would not survive without marketing. The school is run like a business, there needs to be marketing, budgets, change and continuous improvement, feedback processes and reflection on different strategies. With our project, we tried to capture lots of different areas; we did the Grade R sign as a part of the marketing campaign, the windows / flower boxes for beautification, the wall flowers for literacy practices and the road for fine and gross-motor development of the learners. This project has brought awareness that you don’t need a lot of money to make your school beautiful, market your school and create different learning experiences for your learners.

Describe the benefit of this initiative to the school and comment on its sustainability.

This project holds many benefits for the school, firstly in the marketing aspect, the Grade R sign is printed in weather proof vinyl to then be mounted on a metal sign board. This was the most sustainable option for the sign, it will last longer than mounting it on wood and be more visually appealing for longer using vinyl instead of paint because it is exposed to the weather. The literacy flowers are sustainable because we prepped and primed our surface, used the correct paint and did more than one layer. This initiative is perfect for the height of the learners, the chalk paint is used as a chalk writing board and it is visually appealing. The flowers on the veranda of the building, out of the weather and will be protected by the Grade R classroom wall. The doll house windows are placed on a wooden background, the same paint used for the flowers was applied and permanent marker was used for the outline. These were mounted on the wall with strong nails, the flower boxes were also mounted the same way. The flower boxes are made from wood, with oasis inside and fake flowers to be more sustainable. Lastly the road outside, this was painted in concrete paint to make sure the weather will not damage the paintwork and make the project more sustainable.

Social Action Project Showcase Link:

https://www.canva.com/design/DAFyJqDGWTs/8DfLtCLPfyWbf6UF8XubTA/view?utm_content=DAFyJqDGWTs&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=editor