Unfortunately I spent most of my day in the office preparing for TIPstar Extravaganza and then had to do a Walmart supply run in the middle of the Staff vs. Student Ultimate Frisbee Game. Sadly, I did not get to play at all. (I didn't even make it outside to watch the staff beat the TIPsters!) When the game was over, there was a minor/borderline major student issue that required immediate attention from myself and the OSD. It was a slightly scary situation, but I remained calm as I moved quickly throughout Myers hall to handle it. (That's pretty much all the details I can give, but know that the situation has been handled and everyone is more than okay now.)
After the little bump in the road, the evening progressed and we moved into dance preparation.
We almost did not have a space for the dance and after a cancellation of our space the morning of, we finally had a place to host it: Memorial Hall.
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| Super Admin Staff (Minus One) |
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| Shego vs. Kim Possible |
The students arrived a little before 7:30PM and were super awkward at first. It took about a half hour for them to warm, but once this happened, it seemed like the TIPsters had a really good time. By the time the traditional songs came on, everyone was tired, but made it through. There are a few traditional songs at UGA:
Wonderwall
Time Warp (Staff performs while facing the students)
It's the End of the World (As We Know It) (Students run in a circle and high five the staff members as they do this.)
Save Tonight
Breakfast at Tiffany's
Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)
American Pie
For the last three songs, there are three circles formed. The first is an inner circle of fourth years, another circle of staff members, and then a giant circle of second and third years surrounding both inner circles. The circles get really emotional and a lot of people start crying. I'm not going to lie, I got pretty teary eyed during the last three songs because I was thinking about all of the people who were standing around me last year, swaying back and forth, and singing. Most of those people weren't standing beside me this year so it was pretty sad. Even though I really miss the staff from UGA 2014, I was happy to be swaying in the circle and making memories with a new staff. Things will never be as they were last year, but that doesn't mean they will not be great in their own way.
Once the dance was over, I helped clean up everything and then drove dance committee back to Myers Hall, just in time for lights out. As I was walking back into Myers, I ran into Evil Zach, one of the TA's from last summer. I was so excited to see him, but unfortunately it was brief since I had to meet with my staff.
The staff had a quick meeting on the balcony with pizza after lights out and then most of the staff headed to bed. I decided to sit up with a few of my RCs since I don't ever get to hang out with them. We were all so delusional and exhausted that everything we said or did was hilarious. I really enjoyed this bonding time with them, even if I hated myself in the morning for staying up so late.
Sunday morning was fairly lax. I sat in the office and prepped TIPstar stuff for the afternoon. A ton of parents decided to check out their kids that morning, like an obscene amount, and caused a bunch of chaos while doing so. Eventually, the chaos died down, but it was incredibly frustrating that so many TIPsters were leaving. I guess it was better for it to be this weekend rather than next since we have a field trip on the 21st...
Around 11:30AM, the OC and I headed to Bolton for lunch. We beat the rush of TIPsters and made it back to the office in time to finish last minute preparations for TIPstar.
From 1:15PM-4:00PM, the TIPsters participated in TIPstar Extravaganza. I spent this time tracking down students for various activities, checking in with my RCs running their programs, and taking some pictures. Overall, the day went really well. The TIPsters seemed to really enjoy their activities. We had ten different activities that students could participate in:
Ultimate Frisbee Workshop
Healthy Pancakes (Bananas and Dark Chocolate Chips)
Diversity Icebreakers
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| The TIPsters made me thank you cards! =D |
Philanthropy Events Planning Workshop
Brighten the Space (Making cards and decorations for staff members)
Song Writing Workshop
Paper Mosaics
Diversity Cookies
Teambuilding Activities
I really enjoyed watching my staff members lead such great activities for so many students (about 60 per activity throughout the three hours). And of course, the students loved getting pins for each activity they attended.
After TIPstar and dinner, we hosted movie night in the MLC. The room really felt like a movie theater and the TIPsters brought snacks with them to really add to the aesthetic. Before the movie began, our OSD had a serious talk with the TIPsters about bullying, boundaries, and respect. I'm really happy he spearheaded this because the TIPsters are so scared of upsetting him that I don't think there will be too many issues from here on out.
Once the seriousness was over, we told the students they were going to watch Dolphin Tale. Surprisingly, there was not much backlash, but when we told them it was a joke, they were incredibly happy. We then gave them four choices of movies and gave obscure descriptions of them without the title and had everyone vote.
In no particular order, the descriptions were:
A movie about friendship, a club, and all of the challenges they overcome.
A movie about a book and life.
A movie about a prehistoric family who carry themselves on their own two feet wherever they go.
A movie about a substance with a mind of its own.
Any guesses as to which movie won?
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| "The Little Rascals" |
After a laughter filled evening, the students went back to Myers and met with their DAWGfest teams (Red, Blue, Green, and Yellow) to plan out their name, chants, and sign ups for the events they will participate in on Saturday afternoon. The meetings lasted until about 9:30PM, leaving the students only a half hour for free time (how sad...). After lights out, I had a very serious talk with my staff about safety and parents picking up their students. I'm hoping the new plans we have in place for this will help alleviate any current and future issues.
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| Two staff members fell asleep during the movie so I obviously needed to take a picture with them. |
So far today, we have had a few issues that I have had to address with my staff and will be addressing tonight after lights out. I foresee today being a fairly boring day for me, which is a-okay.
Hopefully after my stern talk with my staff tonight, many of the issues I've been seeing will be resolved.
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