​Good morning all!
I hope that you’re having a good week, and slowly digging out of all of this weather.  ;-)
 
WACA is next week!  And I have a few last minute details to share with you.

• You’ve probably just received an email from our treasurer Norm Sanford, informing you about SCHED.  SCHED is our online conference program.  It will give lots of explanations and details of the offerings at the conference.  It also has options for you to select your sessions… so it builds a schedule for you.  There will be a few printed conference programs, but most people will be using SCHED.  Will that work on my flip-phone?!  ;-)

 

• If you want to participate in our area give-away baskets, remember to bring your favorite chocolate for our chocolate basket, your favorite movie or movie treat for our movie basket, and your favorite “grape beverage” for our “give and take”.  And of course, I’ll have some other give-aways to share throughout the conference.

 

• A quick note about conference attire:  As a rule, attire is casual (jeans!).  Some folks will dress up a bit for Thursday’s Hall of Fame banquet, but that’s an option.  And on Friday, attire is school attire – represent your home school!  On a personal note, I’ll remind you that it’s dramatically cold right now in the Tri-Cities – my students were celebrating this morning, because it was almost 30 degrees by the start of school!  It’s supposed to stay cold next week, so dress warmly.

 

• Finally, thanks to everyone who is attending – we have 27 of us from Area 8.  And thanks to those of you who are presenting.

 
Okay, my friends.  I will see you soon.  Travel carefully!
Jb

​Hello everyone!
 
Happy February!  And Happy Groundhog Day tomorrow!  It’s amazing (stunning, startling,…) that it’s February already.  Second semester is going full steam ahead, and I have just picked up a 6th class for the semester.  So I feel a bit like a circus clown, juggling and trying to keep everything in the air. 

Nice segue, huh?  ;-)
 
Hey, you’ve noticed that March is just around the corner, and the WACA Conference is on March 13-15 at the Tri-Cities Convention Center.  If you haven’t yet registered, please visit wacaonline.org soon!  We have a great line-up of speakers and activities for you, and it looks to be a pretty big conference this year (according to the numbers that our treasurer is getting!).
 
The WACA Board met in the middle of January, as we continued to work on the conference.  As always, there are a few things I need to remind you about right away.  (I’ll also send a note out at the beginning of March to chat about area activities and last-minute reminders.)  So ready?  Here goes!
 

• As mentioned above, please register for the conference soon.  See the application at wacaonline.org
• While you’re on the website, get a hotel registration.  As I mentioned, the conference looks to be pretty full this year, so take care of this soon.
• AND, if you have reserved a hotel room already, but have not registered for the conference, PLEASE register quickly.  Just like last year, the hotels will not honor your room reservation if you are not registered for the conference.  Last year, in early February, they started cancelling reservations and releasing those rooms to WACA members who are registered for the conference.  That practice will be in place this year as well.  So get registered for the conference!  ;-)
• On last year’s conference survey, some delegates mentioned the convenience of having breakfast at the hotel in the morning.  So… we’re working with the conference hotels to see how many of them can provide breakfast.  We’ll still have an option at the Convention Center.
• Have you completed your Advisor Certification application?  If not, complete it soon, by 2/15.  (Applications submitted after February 15th will still be processed, but the certificates won’t be ready by conference time.)  I used my Advisor Certification when I re-certified for my National Boards.  And this year, as we discussed professional development options in our building, I referenced several of the Advisor Certification elements as examples of our on-going work.
• Lastly, please consider presenting a session at the conference this year!  The conference is in our area, and I’m so proud of the amazing and unique things that we do here in Area 8!  ;-)  At the Board meeting in January, there was a high interest in having some experienced bookkeepers present.  It was suggested that a team of 2-3 presenters in a panel format, or round-table discussion would be very powerful.  How about it?  And although many of our 50 minute sessions are already filled up, there is still plenty of opportunity to present a 10-minute Meet the Pros session.  Delegates have been asking about topics like:  how to transition from summer leadership camp to school; how to partner with administrators to promote school culture; how to creatively repeat programs like Character Strong; how to embrace the leadership that exists in our school clubs . So… what do you think?  ;-)  The application to present will be found on wacaonline.org!

 
Okay, six items are enough to consider for now.
 
I’ll chat with you again soon.  Let me know if you have questions or ideas.             
 
Keep juggling!
 
John M. Bittinger, NBCT
Area #8 Representative
Richland High School 

​Hello everyone,
I hope that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.  I love the family getting together and having the amazing meal.  But… I also love the left-overs.  The turkey casseroles, the turkey and cranberry sandwiches, the stuffing waffles,… (yep, that’s right, stuffing waffles!)
 
Well, as you begin your march toward the end of the calendar year, and you usher in the holidays, I have a few more WACA items to send your way:
 
1) Don’t forget!  If you want to nominate someone for the WACA Hall of Fame, you need to do so by December 1st.

• The nomination form can be found on our website, wacaonline.org.
• The nomination pool is pretty low right now; we could use your great suggestion for a person to recognize for their leading role in activities in our state.

 
2)Our program coordinator, Tammy Caldwell, just sent the board a reminder message:   start thinking about presenters for the WACA Conference in March!

• Each year, we have several rounds of 50-minute presentations.  We also have a couple of rounds of 10-minute Meet the Pros.  The 50 minute sessions allow us to go into depth on a topic or program or activity.  The Meet the Pros sessions are usually a nice summary, or a “snapshot” of our topic. 
• The Presenter applications are available on the website, wacaonline.org.
• Our conference theme this year is Come One, Come All to the Greatest Show on Earth.  As we think about the activities at our school, they seem to fall into the categories of Personal Growth, Event Planning, and Culture Building… kind of a three ring circus of activities!  What do you do at school that fits into one or more of these three rings?  Present it!
• What do you do at your school that you are proud of?  Present it!
• Many of us are familiar with TPEP evaluations.  How does your activity match up with one or more of the 8 TPEP elements?  Your WACA colleagues would be interested (… and so would your administrators).  Present it!
• It doesn’t need to seem earth-shaking!  For example, I’ve done leadership camp for a couple of decades.  But in the last few years, I have been intrigued by infusing more camp strategies into my non-leadership courses, and using these strategies to support school-wide initiatives like Character Strong.  So I presented a session on ways to use webbing loops in my freshman science classes for ice-breaking, team-building, and lab procedures.  I presented a session on how to use “manipulatives” like “thumball”, scrabble tiles, webbing loops, and Jenga games to generate class discussions and reviews.  Again, nothing earth-shaking; but if a few people leave my sessions with an idea or two they want to use, then the session is a success!  Give it a try, won’t you?
• As always, if you have an idea or question that you want to discuss, please email me, and we’ll chat.  ;-)

 
All right, that’s enough for now.  I’ll send some more information after our January Board Meeting.  Until then, have a wonderful holiday, my friends.  May health and happiness, love and laughter be yours.
jb

​Hello everyone!
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 to 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.  And my goal was to report to you the following week.  Well, that week our computer system was down three times, so I never got it done.  And last week (Homecoming Week) was just a blur, followed by a full weekend trip to Pullman.  So here we are!  I’ll bet none of you can relate to this, huh!?  ;-)
 
We covered A LOT of material at the Board Meeting.  I won’t try to cover it all with you right now.  I’ll divide it into chunks, okay?  ;-)  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, held this weekend (October 12-14) in Kent.  Hope to see you there!  I’ll be presenting an advisor workshop on Saturday, for all those interested.  We’ll use 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 at wacaonline.org, and nominating a colleague?  Details are on the website, and the deadline is December 1st of 2018.
 
Okay, that’s enough for now.  I’ll send another email note in about a month.  Until then, have a fantastic Fall season.  Hope to see you at AWSL.  Keep doing the amazing work that you do.  ;-)
 
Take care,
Jb

Hello everyone,
I hope that your year is off to a great start!  At RHS, we're already at the mid-term progress report time!  Time flies when you've got great work.  ;-)


Hey, I'm off to the WACA Fall Board Meeting this weekend.  We're meeting in Spokane this year.  As you know, one of our tasks at Fall Board Meeting is to check out possible conference sites.  I'll let you know what we find out.


In the meantime, I hope that you're getting ready for a great fall season.  Remember that the AWSL Conference for our student leaders is next month - Oct. 12 - 14, at Kent-Meridian High School.  I hope that I'll see some of you there.  (Psst!  As of last week, they were still looking for a few student presenters...)


All right, I'll contact you soon, with news from the Fall Board Meeting.  Until then, have a great weekend!
jb

Hello all,
Well, we’re just a week away from the WACA conference.  The schedule is in place, the speakers are ready, the entertainment has been arranged, and the class sessions are full.  I’m looking forward to seeing you all.  Area 8 will have about 40 people in attendance… yeah!
 
Some final details to your conference planning:
 
#1:  Attire -  The conference is very casual; jeans and a t-shirt usually work very well.  Since our theme is Tune in to Leadership, how about bringing a concert/music shirt to wear on Thursday (where is that Barry Manilow shirt from the 2005 concert at the fairgrounds?).  And Friday, we try to show off our school colors, so find some spirit gear from your school.  Some people like to dress a bit nicer for the Thursday evening awards banquet, but that is very optional.
 
#2:  Area Give-Aways -  In the past few years, delegates have brought items for our give-away baskets.  You bring an item, and I give you a ticket.  In this way, we build a nice basket.  Then, at the final area meeting, we draw a ticket to choose a winner for each basket.  How’s that?  ;-)  This year, we have:

• Chocolate basket:  bring your favorite chocolate to donate to the basket.  This is a great drawing at the last area meeting.  (We usually provide security so that you can get the chocolate safely to your car!!)
• Movie basket:  bring a favorite DVD and/or your favorite movie treat to add to the basket.
• Since we live in wine country around here, we also do an informal grape beverage exchange (“bring a bottle, take a bottle”).  Bring a bottle of your favorite grape “juice” and set it on the table.  At the end of the conference, take a different bottle home.  (Note:  I always provide some sparkling cider, and Tim Turner always selects a high-quality boxed beverage.)

 
#3:  Clock Hours -  Recall that 10 clock hours are available at the close of the conference.  The sign-in will be quick, but please plan for a few minutes to complete that task.
 
#4:  Area Meeting #2 -  I’ve had three advisors from Area 8 ask if we could discuss components of our leadership classes, with particular emphasis on advanced or second year students.  Could you please come prepared to share some of your great ideas?  We’ll do that informally at our second area meeting (on Thursday morning).
 
#5:  Area 8 Social!! -  On Wednesday evening, after the conference day wraps up (around 8:30pm), we have reservations for a social at Proof GastroPub.  It’s a short walk (about 3 blocks) from the Convention Center.  I’ve worked with their staff and arranged for a variety of appetizers for us.  You’ll have to take care of your beverages, and we’ll all have some fun on the fourth floor cityscape overlook room  (I just made up that name).  Should be fun!
 
All right, that should do until we see each other next Wednesday.  Until then, have a great week!
Jb

​Hello Area 8!
 
How’s it going?  Great, I hope!  ;-)
 
I have two quick conference items for you:
First, Barnes and Noble is managing our Resource Room this year.  That means that they will provide the books and supplies for us.  One of the advantages of using them, is that they are available during the conference, and beyond.  They have set up a special code for us (bookfair ID is 12325999), that is active from March 15 – 20.  So if you don’t pick up an item during the conference, you can go to the local B & N store, or online, and get that item for the same price as during the conference (but only from March 15-20).  Pretty cool, huh?
Second, we still have a couple of spots to fill for our conference Meet the Pros session.  Meet the Pros is really nice, because it is just a 10 minute chat (actually less, when you consider discussion and questions!)  You have something cool at your school… so present it!  ;-)  For example, I’ve been using leadership camp cheers and positive songs during football and basketball games this year.  It really promotes spirit, and keeps the climate positive.  And we’ve had amazing success, and a lot of fun.  This is the kind of thing that is great for Meet the Pros.  So…

• Have you got a novel way to celebrate students (birthday calendar each month?  Their face in a cut-out star that is taped to the cafeteria wall?)
• Do you have a cool alternative to decorating with butcher paper?
• What cool technology are you using in class?  (I have a flip-phone still, so you’ll have to fill in the details here!)
• Do you hold a leadership retreat?
• Do you have a great MLK/Black History month assembly?

You’re probably saying, “Gee John, that’s old stuff!  At my school we do…”  Cool!  Present it!
Oh, by the way, the presenter application is really easy to find on the website (wacaonline.org).   ;-)
And no pressure, but Area 8 is basically hosting this conference, since it’s in Kennewick.  Let’s represent!!
Hey, have a great day everyone!  And Happy Valentine’s Day tomorrow.  (Our choir goes around all day delivering “val-o-grams” and singing in the halls.  It’s really cool, creates a wonderful climate, and highlights the music program.  Hey… that could be a Meet the Pros topic!)
Best to you,
jb

Hello Area #8!
I hope that your Friday went well, and that you are looking forward to a great weekend.
Hey, our President, Laurel Robillard, just sent out the following update regarding our conference hotels.  Looks like there a some rooms left for reserving!  I’ve added the contact phone numbers, if that is how you want to contact them.  But you can also find them online.  Please note the address of the Red Lion; there are two of them in the Kennewick area.
Some information updates regarding rooming at our sites as of 4:45 p.m. today (January 25th)...February 9th is the reservation deadline...after that rooms not reserved (with names) will be released to the public...remind them that we are getting the group rate...
Springhill Suites        (509) 820-3026

• $139/night
• 8 rooms just opened up

Hilton Garden Inn    (509) 735-4600

• $129/night
• 11 rooms left

Red Lion        (509) 396-9979
602 N Young St

• $129/night
• 22 rooms left

A couple more quick items for you on this fine Friday afternoon:

• Clock Hours:  10 clock hours are available for attending the instructional sessions of the conference.  These are FREE (yep!), and they are available at the end of the conference AFTER THE CLOSING SESSION.  No, I’m not using all caps to “yell” at you.  I’m using them to emphasize when they are available – we have to maintain the integrity of our offerings, so they are not available before the closing of the conference.  So please, plan for this time.  We too are planning; we know that things were a bit slow last year, and we are planning on streamlining the process and offering MULTIPLE pick-up stations.
• WACA Board:  Everyone knows that I lead a glamorous life as a WACA Board member!  Seriously, I work with about 20 very creative, funny,  and warm people, and I get a lot of satisfaction from my work on the Board.   Do you want to be a part?  Well, we have elections this year for the following positions:  President-Elect, Middle-Level Rep, Secretary, and Even # Area Reps (Areas 2, 4, 6, and 8… yep, our area!).  We also have an appointed position up for selection this year:  the Partner Coordinator.  If you are interested in any of these positions, check out the info (and application) on the website.  Or drop a note to me; I’d be happy to chat with you.

Have a great weekend, everyone!
Jb

​Hi folks,
Hey, last year at WACA, our folks from area 8 met on the first evening of the conference (after all the sessions were complete) and had a social time.  Would you like to do that again this year?
 
I have a contact, a new restaurant in Kennewick.  They’re just opening up, and would love a chance to host us.  They have a small room on the fourth floor of the building (they have the third floor as well) where they can host us.  Food and drink.  Nice views of the area too.
 
What do you think?  Give me a quick “yes” or “no”, and I’ll follow up accordingly.
 
In the meantime, have a great day!
Jb

Hello everyone!
I hope you are all well on this fine Friday!  Ready to enjoy a nice weekend?
 
We had our Winter Board meeting last weekend at the Convention Center in Kennewick, and we’re gearing up for another great conference.  I have lots of items to share with you… too many to put into a single email.  So I’ll send just a few items at a time, hopefully all well-timed.  ;-)  Here goes!
 
If you haven’t yet registered for the conference, please do so!  We have a great line-up of speakers and events.  Of course, all that you need to know is outlined on our website:  wacaonline.org.  The conference registration 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 help out as much as possible.

 
If you haven’t registered for a hotel room, that info is also on the website.  The rooms are filling up pretty quickly (we’re hearing reports), which means that we should have a big conference this year!  Yeah!

• Note:  If you have registered for a hotel room, but haven’t yet registered for the conference, please do that soon.  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 last year too.)
• Also note:  If your room was reserved by a bookkeeper or secretary or someone else who was reserving several rooms for a group, be sure that there is more than the just the bookkeeper’s name on each room.  For example, at RHS, Kari will reserve rooms for Tim, John, and Jim.  If “Kari” is the only name on the registration, that would be bad (see above note).  If she adds each of our names, that will verify that there are three people attending the conference, each with a conference registration and hotel registration.  Make sense?  Let me know if you need clarification.  ;-)

 
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 anytime, but if you want your certification recognized at the conference, you’ll need to complete the application by February 1st.  The certification sure is nice when working with TPEP, National Board certification, or just being recognized for the amazing work that you do!
 
Our partner coordinator Jen Durham 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.
 
Presenters!  Hey, Area 8, how about presenting a session at the conference?  Could you present an idea at our Meet the Pros session (a short/10-minute presentation that you repeat several times as delegates “rotate” to you)?  Do you have a longer presentation that could occupy a 50 minute session?  Please, please consider presenting.  We are always looking for presenters for ASB Law and sessions focused on our bookkeepers.  But delegates have been asking about topics like:  how to transition from summer leadership camp to home school; how to partner with administrators to promote school culture, how to creatively repeat programs like Character Strong.  One of our area delegates is looking for a session on curriculum instruction/leadership lessons.  Can you help?  And remember:  we all take ideas, and “tweak” them.  We don’t think much of it, but those tweaks are what make them so valuable, and so important to share with others.  And hey, that application to present will be found on… yep, you guessed it, wacaonline.org!  ;-)
 
Okay, that’s enough for now!  Read this email, complete a couple of the tasks, then relax and have a great weekend!
 
See you soon!
Jb