WHAT UP AREA 3? Happy New Year!
It's not too late to say Happy New Year, is it? Either way, I hope it's not scary cold in your corner of Pierce County. We're wrapping up our first semester here at Sumner High School, and that always means that WACA will be here before we know it!
We had our winter board meeting last weekend at the convention center in Kennewick, and we’re tuning up for another great conference. I have quite a few items to share with you… probably too many to put into a single email. So, I’ll send a few things at a time. Today, I have seven items for you. Here we go!
1) What's up?: If we haven't had the pleasure of meeting, let me offer a hearty "HELLO!" I represent Pierce County on the Washington Activity Coordinators Association board. If you work with ASB/student leadership in any capacity at your school, this message is for you! If not, please let me know so I can take you off the list and replace you with the person who does.
2) Registration: If you haven’t yet registered for the conference, please do so! We have a great lineup of speakers and events. Of course, all that you need to know is outlined on our website at wacaonline.org. The conference registration form is there.
Note: There is a spot on the registration form to make special meal requests. Be sure to fill out this section, and the banquet folks will try to accommodate those needs as much as possible.
3) Lodging: If you haven’t registered for a hotel room, that info is also on the website. We're hearing that the rooms are filling up pretty quickly, which means that we should have a big, rockin' conference this year! Get those reservations soon, as well.
Note: If you have registered for a hotel room but haven’t yet registered for the conference, please do that this week! After February 1st, we need to have conference registrations matched with each room registration. If not, they will start contacting people and releasing those rooms to other delegates who need them (this happened to some folks last year, too).
ALSO: If your room(s) have been reserved by a bookkeeper, secretary, or someone else who was reserving several rooms for a group, be sure that the names of the actual attendees are on the room. For example, at SHS, Jess will reserve rooms for Brandon, Jeff, and Jordan. If “Jess” is the only name on the registration, that could be an issue. If she adds each of those names, that will verify that there are three people attending the conference, each with a conference registration and hotel registration.
4) Presenters: This conference doesn't happen without sharing the cool things happening in our schools. We have a killer area full of rock stars, so I'd like to personally challenge you to think about signing up!
We have two presentation formats: Meet the Pros (a short 10-minute presentation that you repeat several times as delegates “rotate” to you), or a longer, 50-minute presentation that you would present once.
We are always looking for presenters on any topic related to student leadership, but here are some suggestions that delegates have asked about recently to get your creative juices flowing: ASB law; tips for bookkeepers; how to transition from summer leadership camp to home school; how to partner with administrators to promote school culture; how to plan fun and meaningful leadership lock-ins; how to address privilege and culture in the leadership classroom; mentorship for younger students; helpful technology/apps that you use daily; or any other specific, powerful leadership class lessons that you may have.
I know you can do this! We all take ideas and put our own spin on them. We may not think much of it at the time, but those tweaks are what make those ideas so valuable and so important to share.
Grab the mic and apply to present right here!
5) Adviser Certification: On the website, notice that there is an advisor certification menu. Please consider applying! We had 37 advisors apply last year, and have added more than a dozen this year so far. You can apply any time, but if you complete your application by February 1st, you'll be recognized at the conference and your name will be printed in the program. The certification can be awfully nice when working with TPEP, National Board certification, or just being recognized for the amazing work that you do!
6) Partners: Our partner coordinator Jen Durham (shout out to Area 3! Key Peninsula Middle School represent) is always looking for conference partners. If you have a local vendor that you really like or a product that you use frequently, let me know and I’ll pass the info on to Jen. She will contact that person/s, and see if they’re interested in being one of our Partners.
7) Servus Conference: On a non-WACA note (but still a student leadership note), consider yourselves invited to bring your students to the 12th annual Servus Conference at the Showare Center in Kent! Servus is on March 7, and it is an opportunity to be inspired by some heavy-hitters as they speak on the subject of servant leadership. This year, the lineup boasts Noemi Ban, Luis Ortega, John PUSH Gaines, Houston Kraft, and Davey Muise! For more information, check the website at servusconference.com. If you have questions, don't hesitate to email me or John Norlin.
Okay! That’s it for now, but don't worry - there's more on the way, especially as we get closer to the conference. Enjoy your week, and I'll be excited to talk to you soon!
It's not too late to say Happy New Year, is it? Either way, I hope it's not scary cold in your corner of Pierce County. We're wrapping up our first semester here at Sumner High School, and that always means that WACA will be here before we know it!
We had our winter board meeting last weekend at the convention center in Kennewick, and we’re tuning up for another great conference. I have quite a few items to share with you… probably too many to put into a single email. So, I’ll send a few things at a time. Today, I have seven items for you. Here we go!
1) What's up?: If we haven't had the pleasure of meeting, let me offer a hearty "HELLO!" I represent Pierce County on the Washington Activity Coordinators Association board. If you work with ASB/student leadership in any capacity at your school, this message is for you! If not, please let me know so I can take you off the list and replace you with the person who does.
2) Registration: If you haven’t yet registered for the conference, please do so! We have a great lineup of speakers and events. Of course, all that you need to know is outlined on our website at wacaonline.org. The conference registration form is there.
Note: There is a spot on the registration form to make special meal requests. Be sure to fill out this section, and the banquet folks will try to accommodate those needs as much as possible.
3) Lodging: If you haven’t registered for a hotel room, that info is also on the website. We're hearing that the rooms are filling up pretty quickly, which means that we should have a big, rockin' conference this year! Get those reservations soon, as well.
Note: If you have registered for a hotel room but haven’t yet registered for the conference, please do that this week! After February 1st, we need to have conference registrations matched with each room registration. If not, they will start contacting people and releasing those rooms to other delegates who need them (this happened to some folks last year, too).
ALSO: If your room(s) have been reserved by a bookkeeper, secretary, or someone else who was reserving several rooms for a group, be sure that the names of the actual attendees are on the room. For example, at SHS, Jess will reserve rooms for Brandon, Jeff, and Jordan. If “Jess” is the only name on the registration, that could be an issue. If she adds each of those names, that will verify that there are three people attending the conference, each with a conference registration and hotel registration.
4) Presenters: This conference doesn't happen without sharing the cool things happening in our schools. We have a killer area full of rock stars, so I'd like to personally challenge you to think about signing up!
We have two presentation formats: Meet the Pros (a short 10-minute presentation that you repeat several times as delegates “rotate” to you), or a longer, 50-minute presentation that you would present once.
We are always looking for presenters on any topic related to student leadership, but here are some suggestions that delegates have asked about recently to get your creative juices flowing: ASB law; tips for bookkeepers; how to transition from summer leadership camp to home school; how to partner with administrators to promote school culture; how to plan fun and meaningful leadership lock-ins; how to address privilege and culture in the leadership classroom; mentorship for younger students; helpful technology/apps that you use daily; or any other specific, powerful leadership class lessons that you may have.
I know you can do this! We all take ideas and put our own spin on them. We may not think much of it at the time, but those tweaks are what make those ideas so valuable and so important to share.
Grab the mic and apply to present right here!
5) Adviser Certification: On the website, notice that there is an advisor certification menu. Please consider applying! We had 37 advisors apply last year, and have added more than a dozen this year so far. You can apply any time, but if you complete your application by February 1st, you'll be recognized at the conference and your name will be printed in the program. The certification can be awfully nice when working with TPEP, National Board certification, or just being recognized for the amazing work that you do!
6) Partners: Our partner coordinator Jen Durham (shout out to Area 3! Key Peninsula Middle School represent) is always looking for conference partners. If you have a local vendor that you really like or a product that you use frequently, let me know and I’ll pass the info on to Jen. She will contact that person/s, and see if they’re interested in being one of our Partners.
7) Servus Conference: On a non-WACA note (but still a student leadership note), consider yourselves invited to bring your students to the 12th annual Servus Conference at the Showare Center in Kent! Servus is on March 7, and it is an opportunity to be inspired by some heavy-hitters as they speak on the subject of servant leadership. This year, the lineup boasts Noemi Ban, Luis Ortega, John PUSH Gaines, Houston Kraft, and Davey Muise! For more information, check the website at servusconference.com. If you have questions, don't hesitate to email me or John Norlin.
Okay! That’s it for now, but don't worry - there's more on the way, especially as we get closer to the conference. Enjoy your week, and I'll be excited to talk to you soon!