This summer saw the JA Malta team grow by two core team members, and 16 summer facilitators, who soon bonded with the rest of the team thanks to a number of activities funded by the ReBoot scheme, courtesy of Agenzija Zghazagh. The wider JA Malta team is mostly comprised of newcomers, so the value of bonding activities cannot be overstated.
A lunch was held mid-June to welcome in two new members, who now make up a vibrant part of our core team. Just under two weeks later, on the 27th June 2023, we held another activity, where JA Malta staff and volunteers competed in an escape room challenge at the Forbidden Castle Escape Room. This activity helped further develop our team’s collaboration and lateral thinking skills, while deepening interpersonal dynamics.
JA team members and select volunteers participated in a team building weekend in Gozo, between the 7th and 9th August. Volunteers spent mornings facilitating classes at schools across Gozo, as part of our Skolasajf programme, strengthening ties with the oft-overlooked Gozitan education sector. Planning sessions were held, and volunteers made valuable contributions to the planning of our upcoming activities, and provided insights for new programmes, which we plan on running in the near future. Each evening was spent in a communal area, where volunteers and team members alike could get to know each other in a very relaxed environment.
The build-a-car activity, held on 17th August, put our time management, creativity and communication skills to the test, as three teams competed to construct, pitch and “drive” the best car, in a given time limit. We took especial care to make event sponsor, Agenzija Zghazagh, visible on at least one of the constructed cars, in recognition of their assistance, for which we are truly grateful.
We received expert training, facilitated By Vanessa Camenzuli, Employer Branding and Communications Strategist, which gave the team the opportunity to further delve into JA’s mission and vision, and better understand the core values of the organisation that need to be projected to schools and students who attend our programmes. This workshop gave us the space to reflect on how we can align our team dynamics and connect our daily work with JA’s purpose and values. It also gave us the opportunity to brainstorm and commit to behaviours that will bring JA’s purpose and values to life as a team, and individuals, becoming even stronger JA ambassadors, reinforcing our team’s ability to get our vision across to students, schools, and stakeholders at every level.
Another team lunch was held, in recognition of our summer facilitators’ efforts this summer, without whom we would not have been able to deliver our summer sessions to children nationwide.
These several activities have helped us to function better as a team, which means not only are we happier as a unit, we are also more productive, and better able to attend to the community we serve.
