Pre Prize-giving Day Stress

All schools organise Prize-giving ceremonies at the end of the year. This year, ours will be held on 16 October 2009.

Over the years, I've been in various sub-committees for the event. I've been in charged of performances, discipline, receptions, and so on. This year, it's my first time doing prizes.

Last Friday morning, I was drenched in cold sweat, thinking of the amount of certificates to do for the upcoming Prize-giving Day. After a rough calculation, I had to get ready close to 650 pieces of certificates. Overwhelming, eh?

In the Prize-giving Day Organising Committee, I was originally in the Receptions Committee. What I had to do is to receive guests and to usher them to their seats. Easy peasy.

However, my Senior Assistant was looking for someone to head the Prizes Committee, and I did not know what came over me to offer myself to do the prizes. People gave me a chance to relax, being in the ushering team. But I chose to stress myself doing prizes. Silly or what?

To me, getting ready the certificates was not a difficult task to do. All there is to do is to type names onto pieces of certificates. The problem cropped up when I discovered last week that there were no suitable certificates. I panicked, and placed an order for them.

I mean, my colleague has been doing prizes year after year, and she'd never ordered the right certificates for the previous events. What had the students been receiving all these years? Strange.

Anyway, my Prizes Committee was crippled as we sat waiting for the certificates to arrive. Monday passed. Tuesday. Wednesday. Thursday. Still no certificates. Wait. Wait. Wait. Sweat. Sweat. Sweat. Stress. Stress. Stress.

Finally, on Friday morning, the certificates arrived, and my teachers and students got to work immediately. We worked using 2 computers and 2 printers. Yesterday, we continued our typing and finally got all the certificates typed and signed by the Principal. All 650 pieces. Phew.

I'm way ahead of schedule, and now all there is left to do is to package the certificates nicely in folders. Kudos to the teachers and students in the committee! Keep up the good work, people!!