Welcome back, Pierce County! It’s a beautiful day in Area 3!
For those whom I have not yet had the chance to meet, my name is Caleb Knox. I teach leadership and freshman English at Sumner High School, and I am the Area 3 (Pierce County) representative on the Washington Activity Coordinators Association (WACA) board. I will be sending out emails throughout the school year to let you know about important information related to the association, our annual spring conference, and the work we do in student leadership. As I write this, I think I’ve almost recovered from this weekend’s ASB lock-in. We stayed up all night, bonded, casted a vision for the year, played games, listened to loud music, and decorated the building in preparation of students’ arrival on September 7. Tomorrow, teachers are officially back, and we’re off to the races!
We’ll be welcoming our staff and students back soon, but I’d like to officially welcome all of you to the 2016-2017 school year now! I get butterflies in my stomach even typing that - I am so looking forward to all the excitement and challenges that the year will bring. Working in student leadership makes the beginning of the year even more meaningful, as we seek to work alongside our student leaders to create a positive culture for the next 180 school days (and beyond!). I would like to especially welcome all the new ASB advisers, leadership teachers, class advisers, and administrators who will be working in student leadership this year. We are so glad to have you helping students to make their schools places where students want to come to school instead of have to come to school. Buckle up - it’s going to be a great ride!
I’m sure I’ll have more for you after our fall board meeting in a couple of weeks, but for now, just a couple of quick announcements:
Ten years ago at this time, I was starting my first of two years as a resident assistant at Whitworth University in Spokane. On the last day of RA training, our dean of students, Dick Mandeville, told us this story:
“When our children were young, we decided that we would take them to Walt Disney World in Florida. We wanted to keep it a secret, but as we went through the process of making arrangements, they eventually caught wind of what we were planning. For months, Garrett and Chelsea were asking us, ‘is today the day? Are we going to see Mickey today?’. My wife Judy and I had to keep telling them, ‘no, not today, but soon!’ We had fun telling them all of the stories about the characters they would see and the magic of Disney World.
“Then, finally, the day arrived. We woke the kids up early and drove to the airport. The kids were so excited to see that we got to ride the plane decorated with Disney characters. We landed in Orlando and took the kids to the restroom. When Judy and Chelsea came out, Judy had a huge smile on her face. I had to ask, ‘what happened?’ Judy explained that when Chelsea saw the toilet flush automatically, she couldn’t contain herself and yelled, ‘the magic is beginning!’”
The magic of student leadership is beginning for us, ladies and gentlemen! Have a fantastic beginning to your school year, and I will look forward to talking to you soon. Make it a great day! (I know you will)
For those whom I have not yet had the chance to meet, my name is Caleb Knox. I teach leadership and freshman English at Sumner High School, and I am the Area 3 (Pierce County) representative on the Washington Activity Coordinators Association (WACA) board. I will be sending out emails throughout the school year to let you know about important information related to the association, our annual spring conference, and the work we do in student leadership. As I write this, I think I’ve almost recovered from this weekend’s ASB lock-in. We stayed up all night, bonded, casted a vision for the year, played games, listened to loud music, and decorated the building in preparation of students’ arrival on September 7. Tomorrow, teachers are officially back, and we’re off to the races!
We’ll be welcoming our staff and students back soon, but I’d like to officially welcome all of you to the 2016-2017 school year now! I get butterflies in my stomach even typing that - I am so looking forward to all the excitement and challenges that the year will bring. Working in student leadership makes the beginning of the year even more meaningful, as we seek to work alongside our student leaders to create a positive culture for the next 180 school days (and beyond!). I would like to especially welcome all the new ASB advisers, leadership teachers, class advisers, and administrators who will be working in student leadership this year. We are so glad to have you helping students to make their schools places where students want to come to school instead of have to come to school. Buckle up - it’s going to be a great ride!
I’m sure I’ll have more for you after our fall board meeting in a couple of weeks, but for now, just a couple of quick announcements:
- One of the big things WACA is rolling out this year is the official Washington Student Leadership Adviser certification. We are proud to say that this is up and running, and we plan to award the first certificates at the conference this spring! This is a great way to celebrate the work we do with an official certificate, as well as validate the efforts of those who are continually working to improve their practice. You can find information about how to apply here. In order to become certified, you will need to report 150 hours within five years (I know, some of you are thinking “I’ll hit 150 hours before Halloween!”). And yes, attending WACA counts! :) You can report experiences from as early as the 2014-15 school year. Questions? Check out the website or email our certification coordinator, Tim Turner.
- Mark your calendar for WACA 2017: Fishin’ for Ideas! We’ll be meeting this year on March 15-17 at the Vancouver Hilton (heck yes! Back on the west side!). I know it seems a ways off, but we all know the speed of the school year once we really get rolling. If you are thinking about presenting a 50-minute session or a 10-minute “Meet the Pros” session (or if you’d like more info), let me know!
- Of course, if if there is someone in your building who is isn’t receiving these emails and should be, please let me know their name and position and I’ll be happy to add them to the list! Additionally, if you would like to be removed from the mailing list, I can do that for you as well.
Ten years ago at this time, I was starting my first of two years as a resident assistant at Whitworth University in Spokane. On the last day of RA training, our dean of students, Dick Mandeville, told us this story:
“When our children were young, we decided that we would take them to Walt Disney World in Florida. We wanted to keep it a secret, but as we went through the process of making arrangements, they eventually caught wind of what we were planning. For months, Garrett and Chelsea were asking us, ‘is today the day? Are we going to see Mickey today?’. My wife Judy and I had to keep telling them, ‘no, not today, but soon!’ We had fun telling them all of the stories about the characters they would see and the magic of Disney World.
“Then, finally, the day arrived. We woke the kids up early and drove to the airport. The kids were so excited to see that we got to ride the plane decorated with Disney characters. We landed in Orlando and took the kids to the restroom. When Judy and Chelsea came out, Judy had a huge smile on her face. I had to ask, ‘what happened?’ Judy explained that when Chelsea saw the toilet flush automatically, she couldn’t contain herself and yelled, ‘the magic is beginning!’”
The magic of student leadership is beginning for us, ladies and gentlemen! Have a fantastic beginning to your school year, and I will look forward to talking to you soon. Make it a great day! (I know you will)