Managing school events is easy with zFairs

School events take a lot of planning and organization in order for them to be successful. Because school events often include both children and adults, they can be difficult to make sure everyone gets the right information. With careful planning and utilizing the right tools, managing any school event can become easy.

zFairs knows all about managing school events. Here are our tips and guidelines to help manage and plan your next event:

Photo by Anete Lusina

Start Planning Early

A lot of school events are annual. This is an advantage because a date is already in mind and planning can begin almost immediately after the last event ended. The disadvantage is that because schools host many events, it takes careful planning and different teams to make each event successful. Many things can and will go wrong during planning for the event. Sometimes venues get double booked or people will get sick. Maybe extra funds will need to be raised or there are technical problems. All of these types of obstacles, and more, will need to be thought through. It’s wise to give plenty of time to fix as many issues as possible and to adapt to unexpected changes before the event. 

Different school functions need different amounts of time to plan. It all really depends on how many are attending the event, whether fundraising/ sponsorship is needed, and where the event is being held. Our suggestion is to start planning a large event, like a dance or science fair, at least 4-8 months before the event, when possible, a year before.  

Set a Date

A date for the event should be one of the first things determined when starting to plan for a school event. A set date gives a deadline for when all tasks should be completed. It is also a good idea to set the date as soon as possible so that the expected venue is available.

When the team sets small goals or tasks, a date should also be set with each job that needs to be done. This helps ensure focus and motivation for team members to accomplish all the different responsibilities that come with event planning. This is particularly helpful when students are a part of the event planning team.

Photo by Moe Magners

Establish Roles

No event can be run by a single person. It takes a dedicated team for any event to be successful, including many school events. Whether it is the responsibility of the PTA, school officers, a group of teachers or a combination of different types of people, each member of the team brings important skills and ideas to the group that can be vital to the success of the event. 

Determining roles helps delegate assignments so that everyone does their part and shares the responsibilities. When determining roles, keep in mind each team member’s talents and availability to accomplish each task. 

Some roles may include:

• Team Leader/ Director-- Often this is already determined in a school set up, but not always. A team leader is the one everyone reports to. A leader also delegates tasks and makes decisions. They also oversee that tasks are completed.
• Treasurer­-- A treasurer keeps track of all the money. They also may coordinate fundraisers and communicate with sponsors. Treasurers need to keep track of a budget so that expenses are on track and work for the event.
• Secretary-- Secretaries are important to have in any organization. They keep track of meeting notes, establish a calendar of tasks, keep track of what tasks have been accomplished, and are the assistant to the team leader.
• Media Specialists—Media specialists can take care of posting information on social media. Media specialists can also be responsible for setting up microphones, projectors, and computers for the event. It helps to have a few media specialists on a team or have the media specialist be a leader of their own team of workers depending on how much tech is involved at the event.
• Communication specialists—Communication specialists make sure everyone has the information that they need. They make flyers, phone calls, and write emails. Communication specialists need to keep track of the information they receive and make sure changes are communicated.

There are many other roles team members can hold. Some team members may also hold multiple roles in order to make sure all tasks are completed.

Photo by Julia M Cameron

Organize and Hold Meetings Often

Meetings help to make sure everyone gets the information they need to complete their tasks. Meetings also help communicate what has been done and things still left to do. Maybe there are some needs that can be addressed, and meetings are a good place to make fixes. Meetings also bring together the team to brainstorm ideas when changes or problems happen.

Meetings do not need to be held in-person. Video or conference calls are both great ways to hold meetings. All members of the team should be a part of the meetings, and notes or minutes should be taken to keep record of what was discussed. These notes can be referred to, if needed, to make sure everyone is on the same page.

Set Goals

Goals are a great motivator. Students and adults should be a part of achieving goals for the events. Goals help create deadlines for tasks, reach certain funding needs, and can even be used to gain perspective on what the event is meant for.

When things don’t go as planned, goals can help get things back on track. The main goal for any school event is centered around children and teens having fun, learning, and being safe. As long as those goals are met, even an event that didn’t go the way that was planned, is still a success. 

Create Visual Aids

Budgets, checklists, layouts, and calendars, etc., are helpful to see that goals are reached.

• Budgets help to keep funds on track. It helps to see numbers visually, rather than to imagine them, when working with allocated funds. 
• Checklists help to make sure all tasks are completed, and that none are forgotten. It feels like a small achievement when items on a checklist are checked off. Checklists can help organize priorities. 
• Layouts are helpful to visualize how the event will be set up, where people are needed, and how to navigate the event. Other team members can refer to layouts to help get the event together.
• Calendars give a visual on deadlines. It is helpful to see dates to realize how much time is given to achieve goals.

Having these visual aids, and others, help team members stay on task, clarifies misunderstandings, and helps to visualize a successful event.

Have a Meeting AFTER the Event

We call it the “lessons learned” meeting. As the name suggests, this meeting helps to make future events more successful by getting feedback on the lessons learned during the preparation of the event, and from how the event operated. This gives every member of the team a chance to discuss things they felt were great, and things that could have gone better. It not only helps future events flow better when lessons learned are applied, but this meeting gives everyone a voice and can help boost morale among the team.

Get zFairs Event Management Software

Why make event planning more difficult with lots of paperwork, organizing, and filing? Do it the easy way with zFairs. Our management software is online and provides information all in one convenient place. zFairs is customizable so that it works for each individual event. Participants have their own individual access. This makes registration and submissions easy to organize. zFairs is made to accept all types of submissions including picture and document downloading, audio-visual, and just audio recordings. Judges and participants have different access so that scoring can be kept confidential until awards are presented. zFairs can be accessed from anywhere, and from any internet accessible device including phones and tablets.

School events are both fun and stressful. Following these guidelines can help make planning and holding events easier. Rest easy knowing that a successful event is just around the corner.