​Hello Everyone!
 
I hope that this message finds you all happy and well, and off to a great start in the new school year.  2019 has brought new challenges and new opportunities in the unique style of our profession.
 
First:  If you are the right person to receive this email (you are an activity coordinator or ASB Advisor), cool;  keep reading.  If you not the right person, could you please reply and let me know.  And if you do know who the right person is, can you let me know that information as well, please?  Thanks!  ;-)
 
Next:  The Board is scouring the state, seeking good venues for our conference.  It’s utmost in our mind to provide a positive experience for everyone, to be at their best, to learn and gain information in order to improve our practice.  This year we will be in Kennewick Three Rivers Convention Center from March 11th to the 13th.  With our theme of Legacy and celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the conference, we can start registering on October 1st.  Starting this year there is a new price structure and early registration has perks.  Register early!  I hope to see you there.
 
And:  If you have any ideas/concerns/questions that you would like me to address with the Board, please let me know. I’ll get the discussion going!  We heard the feedback from last year and are bringing breakfast back!
 
Other notes:

• AWSL conference is coming up in about a month (October 11-13), also in the Vancouver area.  I hope that you’ll bring some students and enjoy the “student version of the WACA conference”.
• Undoubtedly, you’ve encouraged your students to be brave and confident and present a session at the AWSL Conference.  
• So…. It’s not too early to start thinking about YOU presenting at the WACA Conference in March!

Okay, that’s enough for now.  I’ll contact you with lots of new items and details for you as the year progresses.
 
Have a great day, all!

​Hello WACA Area 6,

We are just three weeks away from the Greatest Show On Earth, our 2019 state WACA conference.  

1. It is not too late to sign up for the conference.  The more the merrier!   www.wacaonline.org

2. We need 15 more people to present at Meet the Pros. This is a chance to present a short lesson that you do or an activity you want to highlight.  It is low-key.  You sit around a table with people who want to hear about your project.  Would you consider signing up for a Meet the Pros session?  Here is the link.  http://www.wacaonline.org/presenter-application.html

That's all for now.  Have a great week!

​Happy 2019 WACA Area 6!

I hope you had a restful break!  We are back at it here in Selah and going full steam ahead.  With that being said, I will get right to it.

1. RSVP Training in Selah on January 23rd.  See attached registration form.  I hope you can join us.
 RSVP Registration Selah 190122
2. Now is the time to sign up for WACA.  You won't want to miss the Greatest Show on Earth March 13-15 in Kennewick, WA.  Go to wacaonline.org to register, get a hotel and more.

3. To make the conference work, we need presenters.  Please sign up to present.  I know each and every one of you are doing something great to increase student leadership.  Share your ideas with either a Meet the Pros session (10 minutes) or a 50 minute session.  Sign up at wacaonline.org 

4. It is snowing here today in Selah.  I bet it is snowing in your area too.  I am going to do the following energizer to generate ideas for our Martin Luther King, Jr. observance.  Here are the directions for a snow ball fight.

Snow Ball Fight - This can kick off an idea share activity.  Group members write ideas on a piece of scrap paper and crumble them up in a ball. When it comes time to share the ideas, the group had a big paper fight.  When finished, people pick up the paper balls, open them up and read the ideas out lout.  Don't forget to recycle the paper.

5. Middle Level Regional Leadership Workshops are coming up in February.  I just turned in paperwork for our students to attend on February 8th in Cowiche. Follow this link to learn more.  https://awsleaders.org/mlr  Thanks to several schools who are hosting in our area (Highland Junior High and Walter Strom Middle School)!  

Please let me know how I can be of assistance.  I have a WACA Board meeting later with month and will give you another update after that.  Enjoy the snow!

​Dear WACA Area 6,

I hope your Wednesday is going well!
 
Now that we’re in December, the WACA Conference is 98 days away! Which means it’s time to get your paperwork, registration and hotel rooms in order so you can attend the conference.
 
WACA Conference: March 13 – 15, 2019 @ Three Rivers Convention Center in the Tri-Cities. The theme is: Come One, Come All, to the Greatest Show on Earth! Click here to register.


Presenting at WACA: Learning from each other is the best part of WACA (besides just being together), so please share your knowledge with us. If you’re stuck on what you can present on, use the three areas of focus above; personal growth, project management and building culture, to brainstorm what you can present.

• 50-minute classes
  • Present/Teach/Facilitate 50-min lesson 
• 10-minute Meet the Pros
  • Present 10-min session 4 times.
• If you need ideas, go here to see past year’s presentations.
• To apply to present, please click here.

 
The Purpose of WACA: Our focus at WACA is threefold: 
1. Personal Growth 2. Project Management 3. Culture Building
 
As Activities Directors, Leadership Advisors, Leadership Teachers, Administrators, Counselors, Class and Club Advisors, Success Support staff, we all have a strong role and identity within personal growth, project management and culture building. 
 
Therefore, this conference is helpful and reaffirming of your own purpose, goals and actions. There is a place for everyone at this conference, so please attend.
 
The Benefits of WACA:

• You get to be with people who surround themselves with positive environments, want to serve kids, schools and adults.
• You get to learn and hear new perspectives from people from all over the state and beyond. You will come back with a bucket full of ideas that you want to do now.
• You get a break from the routine in the middle of March when we need it most.
• You have a built-in support network of people who are in similar jobs as you, so they naturally understand.
• The ability to network with Advisors, Administrators and more from across the whole state
• Some good ol’ fun. We all need more fun. We create it in our jobs for kids, yet we don’t take the time for ourselves. Take the time.
• Self-care. Take care of yourself and development so that you can effectively take care of others.
• This is the only Activities based professional development conference in Washington state. So take advantage and use it for your evaluation.

 
How to Pay for WACA:If you’re worried about how to pay for WACA, here are a few ways that may work for you (if you’re not worried, just skip past this section):

• ASB funds:It is totally acceptable to use ASB funds for your registration and lodging. Just get the kid’s approval, which also stems into a great conversation about lifelong learning and being current on best practices to best help the kids and the school
• Principal’s funds: I’ve definitely convinced my principal more than once to help cover sub costs for this conference. If they need to see the value, you can show them the Principal framework and they can see how you getting professional development to help with school culture is a part of their framework.
• Professional development funds:based off your district’s contract, you may have funds to use.
• ASB Secretary:Talk to your ASB Secretary about other funds that may be available. Some districts have specific advisor pools of money for professional development.
• Department Funds:If you’re lucky enough to have a dept fund for activities or leadership, use that.
• Your local school foundation, union, and/or Parent organization: Ask for a scholarship. It directly supports kids and their development, so this is a perfect use.

 
As always, if you have any questions about anything or need help, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.

Hello Area 6!

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving!  I am very thankful for my incredible job and that I get to be the Area 6 representative for WACA.

Our school is looking at ways to provide more opportunities for student voice.  We are interested in the RSVP process.  RSVP stands for Raise Student Voice and Participation.  AWSL, with help from Susan Fortin, is willing to provide a training on the RSVP process on January 23rd right here in Selah.  If you are interested in learning more, please see the attached flyer.  I hope you can bring a team and join us on January 23rd. 

RSVP Registration Selah 190122.pdf

Next, during a fall leadership day in October, James Layman from AWSL, led the students through an activity called Blobs and Lines.  I didn't know this ice breaker.  Where have I been?  Here is a Prezi with directions if you want to try it.  https://prezi.com/7-wlj4rzeyvm/ice-breaker-activity-lines-blobs/

Lastly, get your paperwork in to attend the WACA conference March 13-15.  Registration is open, plus it is not too soon to get your hotel. Here is a link to our website http://www.wacaonline.org/

Have a great December!  I hope to see you for RSVP training in January.

​Hello Everyone in Area 6!

My name is Susie Bennett.  I teach at Selah Middle School.  Additionally, I am the Area 6 representative for WACA (Washington Activities Coordinators Association).  I hope that this note finds you happy and healthy.  As usual, my first task at the beginning of the year is to ask, “Am I talking to the right person?”  Are you the activities/leadership person?  If so, great.  If not, could you please forward me contact info for the correct person?  And if you know someone in a neighboring school who should be getting this email but is not, I’d love some help with their contact info as well.  Thanks!
 
As you know, we had our WACA Fall Board Meeting on Sept 22-23 in Spokane.   We covered A LOT of material at the Board Meeting.  Here goes:

1)       The Board uses the Fall Meeting to check out possible sites for our conference.  Since there have been several changes in the Spokane area, we decided it was time to visit again.  We have to find a site that will accommodate our many break-out sessions, our big vendor area, our large-group sessions, and our housing needs (for about 350 people).  And we try to be fiscally responsible – so we know that if we book a certain number of rooms (room block) and order a certain volume of food (banquet minimums), we can get our conference areas at no/low cost.  Make sense so far?  Well, we found ourselves involved in a “Three Bears” story at our Fall Meeting.  Many places were “too small” – they didn’t have enough meeting space or vendor space.  Some places were “too big” – like the Davenport Grand Hotel, where we were staying; they had enough space, but we can’t meet room blocks and banquet minimums that are large enough to offset the conference costs.  So the Spokane venues weren’t the answer at this time, and we continue to look for “just right”.  And right now, the Tri-Cities is “just right” for the size of our group.

2)      Don’t forget that WACA sponsors an Advisor Certification program.  Details may be found on our website wacaonline.org.  The application is being simplified for this year.  If you haven’t already applied, I would recommend it.  I use it on my TPEP evaluation each year.  And when people ask why I attend certain conferences/events, I reply, “I’m a Certified Advisor; that’s what we do.”  Deadline for applications for this cycle (certificates handed out at the March 2019 annual meeting) is February 1st.

3)      By the way, one of those events is the AWSL Conference for high school students and their advisors.  It is this weekend (October 12-14) in Kent.  John Bittinger, a WACA Board member, will be presenting an advisor workshop on Saturday, for all those interested.  He will be using webbing loops and some other “hands-on” items to highlight some teambuilding and Character Strong activities.

4)      Back to the WACA Conference:  Each March at the conference, we present our Hall of Fame awards.  We need some input from you, so would you please consider going online atwacaonline.org, and nominating a colleague?  Details are on the website, and the deadline is December 1st of 2018.

​5)      Mark your calendars for the WACA conference March 13-15 at the Three Rivers Convention Center in Kennewick.  Registration is open at http://www.wacaonline.org/conference-2019.html

Okay, that’s enough for now.  I’ll send another email note in about a month.  Until then, have a fantastic Fall season.  Keep doing the amazing work that you do.
 
Take care,
Susie Bennett

Hello WACA Area 6 friends!

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!  With the end of the school year in sight, I wanted to reach out one last time and say thanks for all you do to make a difference in your school and our world.

Special shout out to Lori Benoit from Eisenhower High School.  She received the crystal apple award for excellence in teaching in the Yakima School District.  Way to go!

If you haven't already liked our Area 6 Facebook page, here is the link.  https://www.facebook.com/waca6/ On this space we can share ideas, speaker events and more.  Feel free to join in on the conversation.


Thank you for all you do for your schools, students, and communities! 
Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!
 
Check this out if you have a few extra minutes this week:  https://youtu.be/RN3iLeq1828
Enjoy the rest of your school year!

​Dear WACA Area 6,

Thanks so much for attending the conference in Kennewick last week.  It was GREAT to see you all.  Please fill out the survey if you haven't already.  Your feedback really does helps us improve.  Here is the link.  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WACA18  

Mark your calendars now for WACA 2019.  It will be March 13th-15th at the Kennewick Convention Center again.  We love that nearby location.  Next year, I am going to invite some of my administrators to attend.  Think about who you could invite to join us next year.

Fun tip: Recently a student at my school made a fun presentation using the program titled biteable.com  Feel free to check it out and see if you might be able to use it for an assignment.  It's really fun and user friendly and free.

It is my pleasure to represent Area 6 for WACA.  If you haven't already, please like our Facebook page to keep updated on events and speakers in our area.  The title of the FB page is "Area 6 Washington State Activity Coordinator's Association." If you don't want to receive these group email anymore, please let me know.  Also, if there is someone in your building who would benefit from these emails, also, let me know.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or any events that the area should know about.  Have a great week!