Dear Ms Kwek,

Due to the merge and other factors such as differing interests, it has been noted
that our CCA lacks bonding in general. Not only so, but it was evident during the
Drama Night 2014 that members, especially those originally from the AVA Club, had
problems handling the photography equipment. Last minute teaching would not be of
much use, as photography skills are learnt from practice and observing pictures
taken by other photographers.
Therefore, we have come up with this proposal to remedy the problems. As
Semester 2 does not usually have Friday CCA, we, the Executive Committee, will be
holding a photography outing every Friday in place of CCA time. Details are outlined
below, and should any further information be required, we would gladly provide it.
Photography Outing - Overview
Outings would be held on every Friday, starting from 3.00 pm to 5.30 pm. We
might also hold an outing on holidays, such as the first day of June Holidays, or
on Marking Day. However, this would be planned in more detail beforehand.
In case of a public holiday falling on a Friday when an outing is to be held, the
outing would still occur on that week, albeit on Saturday the next day. This is to
prevent a disruption of the locations and arrangements we would plan for the
outings.
Locations would vary for every outing, although we might repeat some locations
if it is particularly accommodating to take pictures in, such as Chinatown, which is
known for the numerous subjects to take photos of.
Each outing would involve only 5 members, plus two members of the Executive
Committee. This is to create a more intimate setting for bonding and learning.
The five members would be a random mix from all levels and interests, and they
would be rotated each week. Everyone would have a turn to take part in the
outing, and no one would have a double session, unless all the members have
had their chance and it was time for a second turn. The two members of the
ExCo, the outing leaders, would be necessary as one would be in charge of the
overall outing, including the briefing and debrief, while the other would be
watching out for the members attendance and safety. As the coordinator of the
outings, Inge would be leading the first few outings to teach fellow ExCo
members on pointers they can give to fellow peers when they are selected as
outing leaders.
Benefits
As aforementioned, the outings would stress on bonding and learning. Skills
such as achieving the right composition and tone are hard to get, therefore we
hope that the seniors would be able to help them in learning these techniques.
Some members do not even know how to handle a DSLR camera, with these
outings, we can teach them in practice instead of in theory.
In Semester 1, we have been taught to use a DSLR camera; however, one
group of four had to share a single camera. We felt that this was inadequate to
prepare members for taking photographs of events and such. Furthermore, much
of the time was spent delving on theories of taking pictures, and not on the
practice itself. By having five members per outing, each one of them would have
the chance to have a camera all to themselves, and try out techniques they may
have seen in other pictures, such as the Bokeh effect.
Our CCA requires good communication to run events such as Teachers Day
smoothly. Much of the faults in events on our part were due to the lack of
communication, such as when a feedback occurs and the person on the mixer
was unable to discern it. Communication comes with trust, especially for people
who are reserved and quiet in nature. With these outings, we hope to build more
on that trust and be a more bonded family that is open to each other.
Locations & Transportation
In our pre-planning stage, we have some ideas of locations and the things we
can do there. For example, a trip to the Botanic Gardens would focus more on
getting photos on plants in macro zoom, getting the right composition and focus
on a close object. However, going to the Chinatown would, instead, would focus
on people and their stories, such as taking a photo of an old man selling
watermelon seeds.
For these outings, we will be taking the MRT and buses, depending on our
destination. Members would be paying their own transportation fees, and we
would inform them beforehand to have sufficient money in their ez-link cards.
After the meeting, and a short briefing on the rules and regulations to prevent
accidents, the group would leave together for the MRT to their destination.
Should any member require a tutorial on using a DSLR camera, the seniors
would be able to explain to them during the trip, or at the location itself.
Building on the previous example, a trip to the Botanic Gardens from school
would take approximately 40 minutes. We would take the estimated travelling
time into account and plan around the time limit of 2 hours and 30 minutes. We
would dismiss them at 5.30 pm at the shooting locations, after a 30-minute
briefing on comments and techniques. An outing to Chinatown would end at 5.30
pm and students would be dismissed at the nearest MRT station.
Equipment
We seek permission from the school to borrow all DSLR cameras the school
owns for every outing, as we would require all the participating members to have
one.
However, we do understand that there are only three DSLR cameras available
to us. We would request your help in acquiring two more for training purposes.
Should this not be possible, we would notify two of the outing members to bring
their own devices, such as a digital camera. Priority to handle a DSLR camera
would be given to members who have no knowledge on operating it.
At 2.30 pm, one of the outing leaders on duty would be in charge of taking the
cameras from the teachers. A meeting at the concourse at 3.00 pm would be held.
At 5.00 pm, one of the outing leaders overlooking the outing would take the
cameras from the members and make the journey back to school to return them.
This way, a debrief can be held without overstepping the dismissal time of 5.30
pm.
Members listed for the outing would be notified a few days before, and required
to bring along a filled water bottle to hydrate themselves regularly.
Attendance
Every members attendance in these outings would be counted as the weeks
attendance. For example, if they attended Wednesday CCA, but skipped on the
outing, their attendance would be automatically cancelled out. Attendance on the
outings would be treated the same way as CCA time. Those who are unable to
make it with excuse would be marked as VR, while those with no valid reason
would be marked as absent.
Pre-Outing Stages
We would conduct a mass briefing on the general details of the outings on the
first CCA session of the semester, which would fall on a Wednesday. If conditions
allow, the Executive Committee would go to the proposed destinations on the
Friday of the first week, such as the Botanic Gardens and Chinatown, to
familiarize themselves and gain a better view of how the locations would be like
during the outings they are in charge of. We hope that we would be able to run
our first Photography Outing on the following weeks Friday, however, should
circumstances hinder us, we would hold it on the next Friday.
After every outing on Friday, the outing leaders would approach a teacher on the
following weeks Wednesday to request for the memory cards of the DSLR
cameras and save them onto a hard disk for future use.
Post-Outing
We estimate that it would take 10 weeks to complete a full rotation of all the
members, which is about the length of one term. Therefore, we propose that
Term 4s Wednesday training sessions be on photography editing. Members
would be editing the photos they take themselves. This creates a sense of pride
on the pictures they took, and provides a deeper understanding of photography,
which, unlike popular opinion, is not simply taking a picture, but also the
processing that comes after.

To ensure smooth runs of the outings, we would conduct a trial run to the location
itself, involving all the ExCo members so as to inform them of what they would be
doing. Thus, if there are closed attractions or renovations, we can change plans
without much problem.
Routes, locations and outing roster would be planned after the outings are approved.
If any of the teachers would like to join us on these outings, it would be a pleasure
to have them along, and a notice of their presence would be greatly appreciated.
Any changes or improvements is welcomed, and please do not hesitate to give us
comment and critique on how we can run the outings on a better level.
Thank you for reading this proposal, and a reply would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
The Media Club Executive Committee