A thank-you for your Model UN advisor after the autumn conference: a delegation photo as a jigsaw, with your note at the end

Written by the team behind Puzzlify. Puzzlify is our product, so weigh what follows with that in mind. We've tried to make this useful even if you never use it. We're not affiliated with any Model United Nations conference, secretariat, school, MUN association, the United Nations or any of its bodies, and nothing here is safeguarding, legal or school-policy advice.

From the outside, Model UN looks like blazers, placards and a lot of very serious teenagers saying "the delegate of France yields the floor." Up close, it runs on one adult's patience. Behind every student who finally gives an opening speech without reading it word for word, drafts a working paper that survives an unmoderated caucus, or wins over a bloc they thought would never vote with them, there's usually a Model UN advisor who stayed after school for practice sessions, checked position papers at midnight, booked the coach, chased permission slips and knew exactly when a nervous first-timer needed one more rehearsal of a thirty-second speech. Around them there's often a co-advisor or colleague from the history or languages department, older delegates who mentor the new ones, and parent helpers who drive, chaperone and pack snacks for very long committee days.

Autumn is conference season for a lot of school delegations: a first regional conference in October, a big weekend in November, the last committee session before the winter break, and the club meeting where awards get passed around and everyone tells the story of the crisis committee that went off the rails. That makes the next few weeks a good time to say thank you. This post collects practical ideas, most of which have nothing to do with our product, and explains one we make: turning a delegation photo into a private digital jigsaw that ends with your note.

Words first

The best thank-you is the one you'd give even without a gift: a few honest sentences about what changed. "He used to go silent when someone disagreed with him; now he asks for a moderated caucus." "She learned that compromise isn't losing." Advisors rarely hear this, because the conference ends on a Sunday afternoon, everyone falls asleep on the coach, and Monday arrives with homework.

If you want the thank-you to last longer than one evening, send a short email to the head teacher, principal or activities director describing what the advisor did. Teacher and club-sponsor awards often depend on someone bothering to nominate, and a clear, specific paragraph from a parent, a former delegate or a student can matter more than you think.

A group gift, not a competition

If several families want to chip in, keep it simple and voluntary. Check whether the school has a gift policy first, and never tie a gift to country assignments, committee choices, head-delegate roles, travel places or award nominations. A card everyone signs plus one shared present is usually kinder than lots of separate gifts arriving at once.

When to send it

• after the first autumn conference, when the placards are back in the box and the stories are still fresh;
• after a big multi-day conference or an overnight trip;
• at the club's end-of-term meeting or awards evening;
• before the winter break, when the conference calendar goes quiet;
• when an advisor steps down, changes schools or hands the club to a colleague;
• when a senior delegate graduates and leaves an advisor they've had for years;
• on an ordinary week between conferences, when nobody else is saying it.

Why a puzzle fits

A Model UN conference is a puzzle already: dozens of delegates, competing interests and clauses that have to fit together before a resolution can pass. Every award or good speech was built from small pieces too: the research note, the practice speech, the decision to stand up again after an amendment failed. A jigsaw works the same way. The advisor puts the picture back together one piece at a time, and the note you wrote appears only when the last piece clicks in. It's a small, quiet thing they can do on a phone or laptop after a week of marking and a weekend of committee sessions.

Photo ideas (with consent)

• the whole delegation in conference clothes on the steps of the venue or in the hotel lobby;
• the advisor with the delegates holding placards or certificates after closing ceremonies;
• a then-and-now pair: a first conference photo next to this season's delegation;
• the empty practice classroom set up like a committee, with placards on the desks and a gavel at the front;
• faceless shots: a row of country placards, a stack of annotated position papers with names cropped out, lanyards on a table, the empty assembly hall after closing.

Ask before using any photo with other students in it, and follow the school's photo policy and the conference's own rules: many schools only allow photos at certain events or ask that they aren't shared publicly. Never use photos of other students without their parents' OK, and never use photos taken in hotel rooms, changing areas or anywhere students would reasonably expect privacy.

JPG tips

• Conference halls and hotel ballrooms are often dim or lit with yellow light. Take the photo near a window or under the brightest even light you can find, and avoid heavy phone zoom from the back of the room.
• Mid-speech shots are often blurry or caught mid-blink. A posed group photo after a session usually makes a better puzzle than a crop from the gallery.
• Blazers, coloured placards, flags and lanyards give clear colour zones that make pieces easier to place.
• Crop out empty walls, ceilings and cluttered backgrounds so the people or the interesting detail fill the frame.
• Puzzlify uses JPG files, so if your photo is in another format, convert it first.

Privacy before you upload

Before you upload, crop or avoid:

• anyone who hasn't agreed to the photo being used, and students whose parents haven't agreed;
• name badges and lanyards with full names, school names or delegate numbers;
• position papers, award lists and committee rosters with full names;
• school logos or crests if you'd rather not say which school a student attends;
• coach and car registration plates outside the venue;
• room numbers, hotel signs, door codes or noticeboards that show where and when the club meets.

Puzzlify links are private by default (only people with the link can open them), and you can add an optional PIN if you want an extra lock. Tell the advisor the link is coming from you, so they don't mistake it for a scam message.

How many pieces?

Play times are rough and vary a lot with the photo and the person.

The leaderboard

If several people solve it, there's a simple leaderboard, so the club can find out whether the Security Council delegates are faster than the General Assembly ones. It's optional, and it works best at a middle size like 48 or 80 pieces.

What to write in the note

The note appears when the puzzle is complete, so keep it short and specific:

• "Thank you for every practice speech you sat through and every time you said 'say it again, slower' when we wanted to give up."
• "You taught me that a failed amendment isn't a failed conference. Thank you."
• "From the delegate who read her whole opening speech off the paper in September. Look at us now."
• "Thank you for the permission slips, the coach bookings and the midnight position-paper edits. We noticed."

Sign it with first names, or from "the delegation" or "the MUN club" if that feels right.

What it costs, honestly

Making the puzzle and previewing it in your browser is free, so you can see how your photo looks as a jigsaw before deciding anything. You only pay when you publish the link to send it: €3.99 for one puzzle (one credit), €8.99 for three (for example the advisor, the co-advisor and a parent chaperone), or Puzzlify Plus at €14.99 a year for ten. The person who receives it doesn't need an account or an app; they just open the link. Photos you upload aren't used to train AI.

It's a digital puzzle only: nothing is printed or posted, and it isn't a cardboard jigsaw. If you'd prefer something physical, a printed photo puzzle from a local shop is a lovely alternative. To avoid confusion, Puzzlify isn't puzzlify.io (a chess site), Puzzlit, Puzzly or Puzzify.

You can try it at the Puzzlify puzzle maker.

Other ways to say thank you (no puzzle required)

• a card signed by every delegate and family, handed over at the last club meeting of term;
• a nomination for a school or district teacher award, or a note to the conference organisers if they recognise advisors;
• offering to help with the jobs they usually carry alone: chaperoning, transport, fundraising, collecting permission slips;
• a contribution towards a book, a training course or a conference they've mentioned wanting to attend themselves;
• a voucher for a meal or a coffee shop near the school, so they get an evening off between conferences;
• simply turning up: to the practice debate, the fundraiser, or the club evening that never gets enough parent helpers.

Any of these on its own is a good thank-you. The jigsaw is one more way to give your advisor something that comes together one piece at a time, like a resolution that finally passes. If you'd like to see how yours would look first, make a free preview.

Written by the team behind Puzzlify. Not affiliated with any Model United Nations conference, secretariat, school, MUN association or the United Nations; not safeguarding, legal or school-policy advice.