Monday, November 30, 2009

Thank you for attending a 2009 National Cluster Meeting. Please take a moment to complete the following evaluation. Your answers are important and helpful in planning successful meetings next year.

Providing your name and contact information enters you for a chance to win. Three (3) Grand Prize Winners, one (1) from each meeting will receive one (1) 2010 National Cluster Meeting Registration. Three (3) additional winners will receive an FCCLA Prize Pack. Prize winners will be posted on the FCCLA national website on December 7, 2009.

Click here for the Washington, DC National Cluster Meeting Evaluation

Click here for the Louisville, KY National Cluster Meeting Evaluation

Click here for the Salt Lake City, UT National Cluster Meeting Evaluation

For more information contact the FCCLA Meetings Team, at (703) 476-4900

Monday, November 23, 2009

National Cluster Meeting in Review

Thank you, advisers, for making National Cluster Meetings a success! The national staff returned home yesterday after completing three exciting conferences. Advisers in Washington, DC, Salt Lake City, UT, and Louisville, KY, had several opportunities to network with other FACS teachers and receive professional development. Sessions on work/life balance, integrating leadership and staying connected with core academics and Career Clusters in the classroom were popular topics.

We encourage you to keep the excitement of National Cluster Meetings going by voting for your favorite FCCLA Week Poster design, National Leadership Conference T-Shirt design, and Win the Icing Cake Decorating contests online November 23 through December 4.

Please remember to fill out a conference evaluation so we can continue to provide students and advisers with the best meeting opportunities in the future.

Thank you again to all who attended the 2009 National Cluster Meetings!

Monday, November 16, 2009

Adviser Networking

We all know that one of the best reasons to come to district, state and national meetings is for the networking opportunities. Whether you’ve been to 25 National Cluster Meetings or you are new to the whole idea, we encourage you to keep it up! So many great ideas were generated at the Washington, D.C., conference this past weekend. To further increase networking opportunities, we’d like you to share those ideas in the comments section below.

If you learned something about membership recruitment, fundraising, working with administration, getting started as an adviser, taking the clutter out of your life, or had another important insight, pass it along to those who weren’t able to attend so they too can benefit from adviser networking.

Monday, November 9, 2009

This Blog is for You!

Thank you, advisers, for sending in so many great resources! We are always collecting publications, websites, newsletters, and tools you think are valuable to pass on to other advisers across the country. Our collection for the winter edition of The Adviser was so full of good ideas we decided to pass a few onto you early. You will find three of the resources suggested by advisers below. Share your favorite resource in the comments section.

From Angela Gott, KY:

I have used the following websites for several years in Life Skills, Nutritional Science, Child Development, Culinary, and Foods.www.sparkpeople.com and www.sparkteens.com

Both sites (related) offer many nutritional tools. (Day to day tracking of nutrition and fitness; BMI; food composition; etc.) Both sites offer FREE membership and will help you track your food intake and fitness. It will suggest what you should do (eat or how much to exercise) to gain, lose, or maintain weight. My students have LOVED it and some tell me that they continue to use the site even after the class.

From Kathleen Buchanan, VA:

I have a Leadership Class. Several resources I have used and offer a number of ideas to use many ways are:
•Leadership Curriculum Guide by the Department of Student Activities from the National Association of Secondary School Principals
•Building Leaders for Life: A High School Leadership Class Curriculum by the National Association of Secondary School Principals
•Leading with Character by Barbara Farmer and others ISBN- 10: 0-538-44487-8
•What Do You Stand For? A Kids Guide to Building Character by Barbara A. Lewis ISBN 1- 57542-029-5


From Jan Gardner NBCT, MS:

I have many favorites, but one of my most used in the Early Childhood Education classroom is http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Becoming Involved at School

Last week this blog discussed the importance of starting an advisory board to help maintain a healthy chapter. This week we’re turning the table a bit.
Not only is it important to have others give you the best information about what’s happening outside the school walls, but it’s extremely important for you to become involved and have your voice be heard. No matter what size of school you’re at, there are opportunities to volunteer. Any and all opportunities are great ones to help get you and your program noticed by others. Below is a great example from an adviser at a small school.

“The committee I am currently serving on is the Healthy Schools Committee. The committee addresses issues in and around our school that affect and influence the health and safety of our students. In the spring I will be on the professional development committee that is responsible for planning the professional development days in our districts.” - Lori Grant, OK

Lori Grant is a participant in the Adviser Academy program. For more information about how you can become involved in the Academy and learn additional ways to become involved and boost your chapter’s influence, check the Adviser Academy page on the national website.