Monday, July 19, 2010

Let's vote...


I called a meeting with the parents of the learners I selected as potential members of the Sunridge Computer Club this afternoon. Attendance was pretty good. I really appreciated the fact that so many parents were willing to take time out of their schedule (especially after a hard day's work) to come hear me out.


The focus of this meeting was to vote on a time and day (of the week) for the computer club to meet and engage in our club activities. We decided on every second Monday at 17:15 for a duration of 1 hour. It was not easy, and I must admit that I was worried that we would not come to an agreement. I feel bad for the parents who had to go back home to their children and say: "sorry, but you won't be able to join the computer club". I feel especially bad for those learners too. The feedback that I got from my learners has been that of excitement and pride - I feel that I let some learners down. Unfortunately it is impossible to accommodate everybody.


Some questions were asked with regards to the running of the club. Questions are always good. One of the mothers asked me what I need. I was touched by this question. It just seemed like such a selfless question from somebody who is eager to support our computer club. As I said to the lady, at this point in time I need ideas, and contacts.


Quite a few parents -before and after the meeting - offered their input. I got some ideas and it sounds like I can really get hold of some solid contacts via them.


All in all, the meeting was a success. I was impressed by the interest and support of the parents.


Now I look forward to the club member's first meeting.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

In the beginning...


Our computer club has not officially started yet. But, that doesn't mean that no work has been done. I'm using the last of 2 weeks of my long June/July school holiday (thanks to the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup) to do some research on other computer clubs across the globe. The Sunridge Computer Club was my idea, and I know exactly why we should have a computer club but, I hit a blank when I asked myself: "what will we do in this computer club".


I've managed to come up with a few ideas so far - some are my own, and others I got from the web. I'm hoping that our best ideas will come from the club members themselves. After all, this club is for them. I've set up an "brainstorm" activity on the ThinkQuest website where the club members can post their ideas for topics to cover. It doesn't matter how crazy the ideas are- you never know, one crazy idea could lead to a practical topic.


Well, this is -in itself - exciting ...the Sunridge Computer Club's first blog entry. I hope to use this blog to document every step the club takes. From now, the pre, pre, pre setup, thru all the decision making, our activities, accomplishments, etc.