Happy December, Area 2 Friends!
 
With the holiday season upon us, many of us find ourselves planning spirit weeks that provide fun activities to brighten up the school days leading into winter break. Last year, I shared an activity we do in our building which my staff really enjoys – it’s a door decorating contest. I have attached the document for your use.
  
A winter spirit week may not be a part of your school’s culture, but I imagine you may find yourself supporting students and staff by providing an ear to vent to, a shoulder to cry on, or our classrooms become a safe place for students (and staff) to spend time in. It is so important that we take care of ourselves as much as we care for others. Research shows that giving kindness brings gratitude into one’s life and that joy can make anyone feel better!  One of my staff members shared the attached Kindness Calendar with me yesterday and I couldn’t wait to share it with you!  We are using it in our daily announcements and posting it on the monitors and in classrooms around school.  We are reminding people that kindness can be one of the greatest gifts to give during the holiday season.
 
A couple of WACA reminders:


This year’s WACA Conference will happen in Kennewick at the Three Rivers Convention Center, on March 11-13,, 2020. The theme is “Love is the Answer” and I would LOVE to see you join us this year!
 
December 1: Adviser of the Year
If you know of an advisor who has displayed qualities of service, dedication and leadership and are so moved to recognize them, you can do so here. 
 
December 1: Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame honors individuals who have made a significant, lasting impact on student activities in Washington state. If you know of such a person who has demonstrated leadership and dedication to providing high quality programs at the school, district and state levels, you can nominate here.
 
February 1: WSLA Certificate
You know what would look good on you? A Washington Student Leadership Adviser Certification. To apply, you need 150 hours earned in three of the six categories. More information here
 
February 1: WACA Registration price increase
 
 
Date
Registration Fee
Pre-Conference Fee

Oct 1, 2019 – Feb 1, 2020
$350 (+ group discount)
$50

Feb 2, 2020 – Mar 1, 2020
$375
$50

Mar 2, 2020 – Conference Start
$425
$50
 
 
 
 
Please feel free to forward this email onto anyone who would benefit from it -- activities directors, athletic directions, ASB advisors, class advisors, administration, etc. Any questions, ideas or concerns? Please email me back! 

Please be kind and take care of yourself this holiday season!
Michelle Munson
Liberty High School
ASB Activity Coordinator
425-837-4830
 ​

​Happy Wednesday WACA Area 2 Friends! 
 
WACA is almost here and that means it is time for The Greatest Show on Earth!  The conference begins Wednesday, March 13th!  One week from today!!! 
Here are some last-minute details… 

If you are a presenter, THANK YOU for your time and talent. We can’t make this conference happen without your willingness to present.
 
During Area meetings, the focus will be on how we can best utilize this conference and one another to fill the needs we have in our schools.  Is there a need to improve school culture?  Got it.  Professional Development?  Deal.  Help with projects and events?  Okay.  We’ll also spend some time networking and sharing resource and ideas with one another.

It’s a very casual conference so jeans and t-shirts usually work well.  Temperatures in the conference center rooms can vary so you may want to dress in layers. Some people like to dress a bit nicer for the Thursday evening awards banquet, but that is very optional.  Friday of the conference is school colors day.  Show your school pride on Friday! 
 
A reminder we are NOT having raffle baskets this year, but instead, I’ll be giving to you!
If you have any questions or comments please email me.
 
I'm excited to see you NEXT WEEK!
Michelle

Hello WACA Area 2 Friends!
 
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.  You will not regret it! www.wacaonline.org
 
2. We need 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.  
 Please let me know if you have any questions!
​
Michelle Munson
Liberty High School
ASB Activity Coordinator

Hello everyone!
 
A co-worker reminded me the other day that the rear view mirror I often find myself looking in is much smaller than the front window I could be looking through. In that moment, I decided it was time to focus on putting first semester in the rear view mirror view and shift my focus to improving the eighty-something school days that lay in front of me. In case you’re looking for something in the new year to kick start or remind you of the importance of what we do as leaders in our buildings, I suggest reading Brene Brown’s DARE TO LEAD book. SO GOOD! I am convinced every educator should read it. If you don’t feel you have time to read, may I suggest attending WACA in March?  
 
The WACA board members assembled for our Winter Board meeting at the Convention Center in Kennewick, and we’re gearing up for another great conference.  I have several items to share with you… too many to put into a single email.  So, I’ll send just a few items for now and get more info out later!
 
REGISTRATION: 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.
 
HOTEL ROOMS: 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.)
 
ADVISOR 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 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!
 
PARTNERS: 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: 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 school; how to partner with administrators to promote school culture, how to creatively repeat programs like Character Strong. The application to present will be found on wacaonline.org!
 
Okay, that’s enough for now! Please let me know if you have questions and, as always, please let me know if you are no longer involved with activities and whose name I should add in your place.
 
Take care of yourselves!
 
 
Michelle Munson
Liberty High School
ASB Activity Coordinator
​

​Hello Area 2 Leadership friends!
 
I don’t know how it is for you, but I can’t believe how fast November passed by!  December is right around the corner and many of us have a winter spirit week in our buildings as a fun approach to celebrating the holiday season.  If you are looking for an amusing activity for staff to participate in, I’ve attached a door decorating contest idea that we use at Liberty.  I borrowed this idea from Skyline HS last year and my staff really enjoyed the opportunity to be creative and involved in the winter festivities. 
 
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, http://www.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!

• Our conference theme this year is Come One, Come All to the Greatest Show on Earth. 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. 
• 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?  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 presented on fundraising activities we do in our building, assignments I use in leadership class, and recently presented several strategies on how to better recognize groups in our buildings.  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!  I have no doubt each of you have something to offer so please challenge yourself to present this year.
•  The Presenter applications are available on the website. http://www.wacaonline.org/
• As always, if you have an idea or question that you want to discuss, please email me, and we’ll chat. 

 
Registration for the 2019 conference is OPEN so go online and register today!  All right, that’s enough for now.  I’ll send some more information after our January Board Meeting. 
Have a wonderful holiday, my friends.  Take care of yourselves.
 
Michelle

​Hello Area 2 Leadership Friends!

My name is Michelle Munson and I teach at Liberty High School.  I am the Area 2 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!

One of my goals this year is to reach out each month and provide you with information regarding WACA, as well as support you with a few teaching tools.  In the coming weeks, many of us begin our evaluation process with administration.  As such, I've attached a form created by Guy Simpson, our current President-Elect. When I saw this form at the board meeting, I immediately thought how I could use this in my TPEP conversation with administration.  As you move into your TPEP conversations with administration or seek funding to attend WACA in the spring, it is my hope this form would be helpful for you, as well.  What you do matters and it is my hope I can help you throughout the year to feel supported.  Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need anything!
 
The WACA board 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”.  

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.   Deadline for applications for this cycle (certificates handed out at the March 2019 annual meeting) is February 1st.

3)      The AWSL Conference for high school students and their advisors and 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.​

Michelle

Hello WACA Area 2 friends!
 
There are six weeks left in the school year, it is warm and beautiful outside, AP testing has begun, and it is Teacher Appreciation Week!  What isn’t there to love about life right now?  My 11 year old son asked me this morning, if I had the chance, which of my teachers I would thank this week. I told him a few names that immediately popped into mind, but all have long since retired and I won’t have the chance to thank them.  He said, “then you should thank all the teachers you know now, because you don’t want to miss the chance.”  He’s got a point….
 
Thank you for all you do for your schools, students, and communities! 
Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!  You are awesome.
 
Check this out if you have a few extra minutes this week:  https://youtu.be/RN3iLeq1828
Enjoy the rest of your school year!
 
Michelle Munson

Happy Friday my Area 2 friends!
 
Thank you for attending the WACA conference in Kennewick this year!  It was so awesome to see you all.  One of things I really appreciated about our group was the huge return of session and presenter ideas/feedback for next year.  Your voice is important and the feedback will assist us in providing quality presentations in future years.
 
If you haven’t had a chance to fill out the survey to provide us with overall feedback about the 2018 conference, can you please take a few minutes to do so?  Your feedback really does help 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. 
 
It is my pleasure to represent Area 2 for WACA. If you do not 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.  Whether you are heading into spring break this afternoon or you have another week to grind out, I hope you have a chance to take care of yourself during the break and recharge for the rest of the school year.
 
Michelle Munson

​Happy February Area 2!  Hope all is well on this sunny, beautiful, cold afternoon. I have three quick conference items for you:
1.    Barnes and Noble is managing our Resource Room this year! That means 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 set up a special code for us (bookfair ID is 12325999) that will be 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 conference price (but only from March 15-20). 


2.    Our conference theme this year is “Tune in to Leadership,” and we want to have great music flowing throughout the convention center all week! If you have any requests for our DJs, fill out the brief Google Form here: https://tinyurl.com/WACArequests


3.    Finally, we still have spots to fill for our Meet the Pros sessions at the conference. Meet the Pros is really nice, because it is just a 10 minute chat around a table. I know you have something cool at your school, so bring it! If you've never presented before, this is a great place to start!
o    What cool technology are you using in class? Do you have an app or tech tip you use for ASB?
o    Do you hold a leadership retreat or lock-in? What does that look like?
o    Do you have a great MLK/Black History month assembly?
o    Do you have a fundraiser that works well for your community?
Share one of the amazing things that is happening at your school!  The presenter application is really easy to find on the website (wacaonline.org). 
Looking forward to seeing you at the conference in March.
Have a great day!
Michelle

Hello Area 2 Friends!
I hope you had a great weekend. For those who start second semester this week – only 90 days to go!  Getting away for a few days in March is looking better and better, isn’t it?  J
Just a quick note:
Laurel Robillard, WACA Board President, 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.
February 9th is the reservation deadline...after that rooms not reserved (with names) will be released to the public...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:

• 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:  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). 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 week, everyone!
Michelle Munson