Hello Area 2, Happy New Year and welcome back! Some of you are probably on a 2 hour delayed start today, enjoy the little extra bit of time off that you got from the snow.
WARNING, WARNING: this is a long one, but do read it all (lots of good info!)
Can you believe it is January already?! I sure can’t. The good news is that the countdown to WACA 2016 is on! 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
Conference: Registration is live for anyone planning on using a PO and for those using a credit card. I don’t know about you, but I’ve already submitted my substitute request and travel documents, so don’t delay! I know many districts have sub shortages, so I would hate for you not to be able to get this awesome PD because you don’t have a sub.
Lodging: The official conference hotels are the Springhill Suites (newly opened and connected to the Convention Center, wahoo! http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/kwcsh-springhill-suites-kennewick-tri-cities) and Hilton Garden Inn (within walking distance http://hiltongardeninn3.hilton.com/en/hotels/washington/hilton-garden-inn-tri-cities-kennewick-PSCKEGI/index.html). 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!
Hall of Fame: 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
Presenters: And, as always, we are looking for a few experts, in other words…YOU, to present at the conference. Several of our awesome area 2 people presented last year, let’s do it again!! 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.
WACA Board: 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 (this is us), 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!
Fundraisers: 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. Here is one idea I’d like to share with you that my friend does at her school:
Cocoa Café – each February they transform their cafeteria into a “coffee shop” for the night and invite students and staff to share their talents. 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 J). The show is a hit and they make a good profit because there is very little overhead cost.
Have you checked out the WACA video library recently? Here is a link to a great video I recently watched that I found on the WACA video library that is pretty powerful. It is called “Can We Auto-Correct Humanity.” It could be used as a great way to show your students that 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 - if you know someone who should be receiving this email, please email me their address and I'll get them on the list. And, if you would like me to remove you, please let me know.
Have a great first week back!
Best,
Kia
WARNING, WARNING: this is a long one, but do read it all (lots of good info!)
Can you believe it is January already?! I sure can’t. The good news is that the countdown to WACA 2016 is on! 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
Conference: Registration is live for anyone planning on using a PO and for those using a credit card. I don’t know about you, but I’ve already submitted my substitute request and travel documents, so don’t delay! I know many districts have sub shortages, so I would hate for you not to be able to get this awesome PD because you don’t have a sub.
Lodging: The official conference hotels are the Springhill Suites (newly opened and connected to the Convention Center, wahoo! http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/kwcsh-springhill-suites-kennewick-tri-cities) and Hilton Garden Inn (within walking distance http://hiltongardeninn3.hilton.com/en/hotels/washington/hilton-garden-inn-tri-cities-kennewick-PSCKEGI/index.html). 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!
Hall of Fame: 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
Presenters: And, as always, we are looking for a few experts, in other words…YOU, to present at the conference. Several of our awesome area 2 people presented last year, let’s do it again!! 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.
WACA Board: 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 (this is us), 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!
Fundraisers: 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. Here is one idea I’d like to share with you that my friend does at her school:
Cocoa Café – each February they transform their cafeteria into a “coffee shop” for the night and invite students and staff to share their talents. 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 J). The show is a hit and they make a good profit because there is very little overhead cost.
Have you checked out the WACA video library recently? Here is a link to a great video I recently watched that I found on the WACA video library that is pretty powerful. It is called “Can We Auto-Correct Humanity.” It could be used as a great way to show your students that 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 - if you know someone who should be receiving this email, please email me their address and I'll get them on the list. And, if you would like me to remove you, please let me know.
Have a great first week back!
Best,
Kia