The Super-Secret Special Event
Every year at my facility, we have an all-school event. This Super-Secret Special Event (S-SSE for short - more about the name later) used to be our school prom for our high school students. We changed it into an all-school dance and then a luau. In the past several years, the planning and implementation of this event has fallen on the shoulders of four of us at the facility. We were absolutely exhausted of the luau theme, so we made an executive decision to change the theme every year. This year, our S-SSE is on this Thursday, and I am getting ready.
Why do we call it the S-SSE? My former principal wanted to keep it a secret from our students when she called it the luau. We've continued that part of the tradition - it is still supposed to be a secret. Once we moved away from that particular theme, we needed a new name. The new name is a not-so-subtle reminder to everyone else that no one is supposed to talk about the day with our clients. It rarely works, but that's life.
Our theme this year is Super Heroes! We will have two bounce things - one is an obstacle course - several stations, some crafts, and snacks in the afternoon. Every student gets a free t-shirt, designed by the art therapist, and staff members can purchase a t-shirt for themselves (the staff purchases fund the student shirts). We will also have a fish pond, temporary tattoos, face painting and caricatures, and treat bags for every student. Each class will arrive for 30 minutes in the morning and then can come back for an hour in the afternoon with the rest of their pods (classroom groups).
This is going to be a long week. I will help with the great t-shirt sort and pack after school this afternoon. I will help with set-up on Wednesday and will help with tear-down on Thursday. In addition, it is my job to coordinate snacks and gift bags as well as to coordinate student participation.
What does this have to do with music therapy? Well, if you subscribe to the idea that a music therapist should ONLY do music therapy, then nothing. If you believe that a music therapist should do what is best for his or her client, then this is a natural extension of my job.
I am also someone who steps up to take charge when others slack off. We used to have a committee of WAY too many people to plan the luau. Now there are only four of us, and we all think the same way so it makes it easy to plan. No one else volunteers to do these things, so we only do these types of S-SSEs when a select few of us step up.
In the interest of full honesty, I am also a bit of a control freak.
So are the rest of the volunteers, so they let me control what I feel the need to control, and they control their own parts. It works for us.
This week will be a long one, but that's okay. My students will enjoy the day off from our schedule, and so will I.
Off to work on the S-SSE!
Happy Monday!!
Why do we call it the S-SSE? My former principal wanted to keep it a secret from our students when she called it the luau. We've continued that part of the tradition - it is still supposed to be a secret. Once we moved away from that particular theme, we needed a new name. The new name is a not-so-subtle reminder to everyone else that no one is supposed to talk about the day with our clients. It rarely works, but that's life.
Our theme this year is Super Heroes! We will have two bounce things - one is an obstacle course - several stations, some crafts, and snacks in the afternoon. Every student gets a free t-shirt, designed by the art therapist, and staff members can purchase a t-shirt for themselves (the staff purchases fund the student shirts). We will also have a fish pond, temporary tattoos, face painting and caricatures, and treat bags for every student. Each class will arrive for 30 minutes in the morning and then can come back for an hour in the afternoon with the rest of their pods (classroom groups).
This is going to be a long week. I will help with the great t-shirt sort and pack after school this afternoon. I will help with set-up on Wednesday and will help with tear-down on Thursday. In addition, it is my job to coordinate snacks and gift bags as well as to coordinate student participation.
What does this have to do with music therapy? Well, if you subscribe to the idea that a music therapist should ONLY do music therapy, then nothing. If you believe that a music therapist should do what is best for his or her client, then this is a natural extension of my job.
I am also someone who steps up to take charge when others slack off. We used to have a committee of WAY too many people to plan the luau. Now there are only four of us, and we all think the same way so it makes it easy to plan. No one else volunteers to do these things, so we only do these types of S-SSEs when a select few of us step up.
In the interest of full honesty, I am also a bit of a control freak.
So are the rest of the volunteers, so they let me control what I feel the need to control, and they control their own parts. It works for us.
This week will be a long one, but that's okay. My students will enjoy the day off from our schedule, and so will I.
Off to work on the S-SSE!
Happy Monday!!
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