What happened to September? I hope this missive finds you happy, healthy and energetic!  The WACA Board met in mid-September to start planning for our "Gone Fishing for Great Ideas"       Conference:

WHEN: March 15th, 16th and 17th of 2017 
WHERE: the Hilton in Vancouver, Washington (one quick trip down the I-5 corridor). 
WHY: We have some great events planned! This conference is not to be missed!


REGISTRATION:

For you early birds - Registration opens online today! Register at wacaonline.org this week. When you fill out the registration form, you will notice vegetarian and gluten-free meal options. Please mark your selection accurately as you will be provided with the meals you selected at the conference.

PRE-CON:

When you register for the conference, don’t forget to sign up for a pre-conference session! For just a small additional registration cost ($45), you will have the opportunity to attend one of three amazing pre-con sessions, and lunch will also be provided. Options are:

• SESSION 1: ASB Finance Up Close, presented by Marty Fortin, AWSP
  Marty Fortin is considered one of the foremost experts on ASB law at best practices for schools in the state of Washington. He will bring his extensive knowledge and experience to this pre-conference offering. Click on the link on the WACA website for a brief synopsis of the topics to be covered.

• SESSION 2: Leadership Class Lessons & Resources, presented by Susan Fortin and Joe Fenbert, AWSP
  Participate in hands-on activities and lessons that focus on leadership skills for life. Add these lessons to your leadership toolkit to use in class, retreats, after-school programs, advisory programs and more.

• SESSION 3: Character Strong, presented by John Norlin - Director of Student Leadership and Community Involvement K-12 Sumner School District
  This session will take you through an example year long plan to intentionally build character and a positive climate throughout your student body, staff, and community! Learn about instructional content, resources, activities, and strategies to make this happen. Bring your calendars, computers, and ideas of what you are doing at your school!

• SESSION 4: ENGAGE: Creating Culture That Works, presented by Scott Backovich - Youth Motivational Speaker
  Get in fast! In this session, we will cover student engagement as a hands-on model, backed by data and proven in schools all across the country. Want to know how the best schools in America are formed? Come in and learn the model for yourself! What if I told you that school spirit doesn’t have to be loud or crazy? What if the purpose of dances, rallies, and assemblies wasn’t to gain massive attendance, but to establish something even greater? Most importantly, what if I told you that the entire process of building a positive and inclusive community in your school could be boiled down to ONE system?

PRESENTERS: WE NEED YOU!

We are always looking for people to share their ideas! So many of you have great ideas; now I encourage you to share them through a 10-minute meet the pro’s session or a 50-minute  presentation.This year we are especially hoping to add presentations that might be of interest to administrators and secretaries. If you are interested in presenting, but aren’t sure about a topic, please contact me!
 
HALL OF FAME AND ADVISOR OF THE YEAR NOMINATIONS:
Hall of Fame and Advisor of the Year nominations are available online now at wacaonline.org! Remember that we count on you for these nominations, so be sure to get yours in by December 1st.
 
ADVISOR CERTIFICATION:
Adviser Certification application is up and ready to go! A number of people have already submitted their applications, and we will award certificates at the conference in March. Contact Tim Turner, the Certification Coordinator, with any questions you may have.


AREA 1 REPRESENTATIVE NOMINATIONS:

Have you ever thought about being the AREA 1 REPRESENTATIVE? This could be your year! Nominations will be open during the convention. 

FINALLY:

If you no longer want to get emails pertaining to WACA, please send me an email and I will take you off my list. If you know someone that should be getting emails about WACA, please forward this email to them or send me their email address.

AREA 1 People ROCK!

Hello Area One People:

We are quickly finishing up another year. If you need an activity, video clip or something to shake up the last couple of weeks of school check out the WACA Idea Share. Many of you already know of this great resource and have probably contributed to the wealth of ideas. Idea Share WACA click on this link and spend a couple of minutes browsing. Also, if you read a great book or see a great movie this summer share your find on this resource. 

Ahhhhh! Summer is only weeks away! I hope your summer gives you time to relax and recharge! Take care of yourself and those you love!

Until next fall.

Laura Maaradji
Area One Representative

​Hey Area 1!


Hope your first week back was wonderful! Attached as promised is the compiled list of ideas, suggestions and resources that YOU shared with US! I am in awe of the number of great ideas we came up with. 

If you have any questions or would like to expand on something you have shared let me know. 

Enjoy a restful and relaxing weekend.

Hi WACA 2016 AREA 1 Participants:

Thank you for attending our For the Love of the Game WACA 2016 conference. Finally, I was able to get names and faces matched up. I enjoyed meeting everyone at the Area 1 meetings even during my moments of panic. 

I suggest if you haven't shared your experiences with a teaching partner, administrator or even your leadership students please do so soon. I have found this helps me review some of the best parts of the conference. This also helps me make a plan of implementation for the new strategies, ideas and resources. Also if you have ideas or realizations that you'd like more information about a certain topic please make note of that information to share with me or on our on-line survey. 

If you have not had an opportunity to provide the Board feedback on the conference, please take the time to do so: Click Here Your opinions and suggestions help board members make decisions about next year's conference.  Your feedback is important. The survey took me between 10 and 15 minutes to complete. Thank you in advance for taking the time to complete the survey!

Next year we will be holding the conference in Vancouver, Washington. The theme is GONE FISHIN' FOR GREAT IDEAS - MARCH 15, 16, AND 17, 2017. I hope to see you there!

Finally, if you are looking for ideas, inspiration or insights please check our wonderful WACA website - wacaonline.org! 

Take Care of Yourself! 

I just returned home from our Fall WACA Board Meeting in Vancouver.  Our March conference is looking better and better every day!  As a reminder, the conference will be held March 9-11, 2016 at the Three Rivers Convention Center in Kennewick, WA.  If you’re not certain what to expect, here is a link to the trailer for the conference: http://www.wacaonline.org/conference-2016.html

Registration is live for anyone planning on using a PO and for those using a credit card, registration will be available no later than Oct. 5th.  I don’t know about you, but I’ve already submitted my substitute request and travel documents.  I can’t wait!

The official conference hotels are the Springhill Suites (newly opened and connected to the Convention Center) and Hilton Garden Inn.  Both are accepting reservations for the conference at this time.  The rooms at the Springhill Suites are just as they sound, suites. Several people will be able to share a room if that is of interest to you.  What a great way to save some money!

Nominations for the Hall of Fame are open now as well and the nomination forms have been updated to make things quick and easy. If you know someone who has given a great deal to leadership and students in our state, take a minute and fill out the application.  We have many worthy people who deserve to be recognized.  Nominations can be done at http://www.wacaonline.org/hall-of-fame-application.html

And, as always, we are looking for a few experts, in other words…YOU, to present at the conference.  If you have created an event, seen great success in a particular fundraising activity, or simply have a great classroom lesson, we want to see it!  We are in need of both 50-minute sessions and 10-minute Meet the Pros sessions.  I know how incredibly talented you all are, so please consider sharing your expertise with others!  If you’re interested, please go to http://www.wacaonline.org/presenter-application.html to submit a description of your workshop.

If you are interested in being a part of the WACA Board, there are several positions open this year – Technology Coordinator, Communications Coordinator, President-Elect, Middle Level Representatives, and Areas 2, 4, 6, and 8.  Consider being a part of the board and sharing your knowledge!

Also, if you have a great Partner (vendor) you use in the area that you think might be interested in having a booth at the conference, please shoot me an email with their contact information.  We are always looking for new vendors and they get great exposure!

I know we are all desperately looking for new fundraisers to replace the many we lost as a result of the changes to nutrition guidelines.  I have two I’d like to share with you:

Cutie Clause – instead of selling candy cane grams, last year my students bought Cutie oranges, mini santa hats, and google eyes and sent out fun little holiday cards to kids in our school.  They were a hit!

Cocoa Café – each February we transform our cafeteria into a “coffee shop” for the night and invite students and staff to share their talents with us.  It is not judged and we give out free hot cocoa to those who are in attendance.  We also sell pastries (outside of school hours).  The show is a hit and we make a good profit because there is very little overhead.

These are just a couple examples of what you can learn if you come to the conference, as I’ll bring pictures and videos of each to share!

Here is a link to a great video I just showed my students that I found on the WACA video library.  It is called “Can We Auto-Correct Humanity.”  I used it as a great way to show we all want to belong (as in the third tier of Maslow’s Hierarchy), but sometimes social media gives us a false sense of belonging.  In addition to having a great message, it’s a great example of a spoken-word poem for all of you English teachers!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRl8EIhrQjQ

One last thing - I will be sending out a short questionnaire so that I can get to know you and your school.  

I hope you have had a great start to the beginning of the year!

Laura Maaradji
WACA Area 1 Representative

Here is your final check list for WACA 2015 Ordinary Heroes at the Yakima Convention Center

1. Time to pack that bag and include your super hero swag for Thurs. and a school T-Shirt for Friday.  Some like to dress it up a little for the banquet on Thurs. night when we honor Advisers of the year and induct others into our Hall of Fame.

2. Bring ideas of what your school does for our Idea Exchange that we will do in our Area meetings.  Questions are
     
A.. Student/Staff Appreciation ideas
B. Assembly speakers you have had that ROCK and for what assembly.
C. Fundraisers With no money up front so you can't lose money on it
D. Student Recognition ideas.
E. Vendors you are using and how it is going with the new nutrition laws.

3. Stop by the store and buy your favorite candy bar and drink item like coffee cup, coffee, tea.  These will be two separate drawings we will have on our last area meeting.  If you put something in for the drawing you will get a ticket and have a chance to win.  I will have other drawing items that you will all be able to be in the drawing for.

4. This year you do not have to plan your own dinner on Wed. night we will be providing it for you.  This is the first year we have done this and it is because of your comments at the end of last years conference.  So do not forget to do the online survey after the conference we do use the information.  You can also check out the schedule on line at wacaonline.org

5. Come with a plan on how you can learn the most to bring back to your school to bring about change.  If you split your group up and hit different classes you will get more ideas.  I find if I talk to as many people as possible also I learn a ton about what they do at there schools that works.  Like my good friends Craig Iversen and Kevin Judkins say " I have never gone to this Conference with out coming away with a new idea to help make my school a better place".

6. As you get to Yakima take exit 33B, turn right after the exit and the Holiday in will be on your Left and the Red Lion will be on your right just after the Conference center.  If you pull into Yakima around lunch time and you are not doing a pre-conference take exit 36 and go to Miner Burgers where you can get a cheese burger the size of your head.  It truly is an experience.

That is all for now and I will see you at check in at the Conference On Wed. March 11th.  Area 1 ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!