CASAA e-letter for December 2006

Greetings

This is your fourth CASAA e-letter of the year.

It is a wonderful time of the year, but I wish that some people would lighten up on the stresses of the season. First, I have the seasonal stress of getting the Christmas celebrations just right for my family. The festive fir twig is an important part of our family celebrations, and I did learn this year that it’s a bad idea to pick your Christmas tree in the dark. I picked out what you would call an exceptional tree: I should have picked any tree except this one. Somehow those brown needles look the same as the green needles in the dark, and the vertical integrity of the trunk isn’t as visible as it is during the day. We just solved the Charlie Brown tree stress by adding enough festive lights that you could roast your chestnuts by the open circuit.

Second, while trying to run all of the festive activities at school, you will find that for every action, there is an equal and opposite criticism. It’s at this time of year that you face the battle of those teachers, who laminate their daybooks ,trying to get through the curriculum and your students trying to have some festive fun. You will be run over by the BMW’s if you don’t watch out! (translation: those who Bitch, Moan and Whine seem to rev it up prior to the Holiday Break). Solution: keep enough rum in your eggnog!

A final ongoing stress is the constant pressure from our technological world. There is this one guy who sends me those long sappy emails telling me to slow down and enjoy the sensitive side of life— hey buster, I just don’t have time to read ‘em!

OK, so there’s some of the sappy emails that I do read. Here’s a chicken soup powerpoint presentation on the web that I thought was good.

www.thedashmovie.com

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Warning:

Tin Box Productions is a multi-media assembly company based in Calgary. They are the same outfit that ran Motivational Media Assemblies here in Canada a few years back. It appears that they are having the same problems making commitments as they did last time. Tin Box Productions was booked for the CSLC in Fredericton and the Quebec Provincial conference. They failed to make either conference and left the conference chairs with a brief phone message stating that they would not be presenting. This left two conference chairs very upset and with a significant hole in their programs. You should be very careful if you are booking this company. They have a history of not making their commitments at the last moment.

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One of the unique opportunities offered to CASAA members is the HMCS Oriole Youth Adventure Challenge. During the month of May this past year, twenty four students from across Canada spent a four day, all inclusive leadership experience aboard Canada’s Naval Tall Ship, HMCS Oriole. HMCS Oriole is charged with the mission of providing sail training to junior officers and noncommissioned officers as part of their introduction to life at sea. Often, Oriole is the first time at sea or even in a ship for these people. This unique experience was offered to CASAA member schools, and 12 students spent one of two weeks aboard the ship.

The students learned teamwork by hauling lines, shining brass and living in the spartan conditions that Oriole affords. Beyond teamwork, the sail training instilled each individual with a great respect for the forces of nature. With Oriole cracking along at 12 knots under reefed sail in 35 knots of wind, it is easy to appreciate the power of the wind and sea. There is nothing like a sailing ship to bring home the challenges facing a ship's crew at sea. Adventure Training in Oriole offers an avenue to confront fear and to face the challenges of the sea. The individual and group confidence that this builds is incalculable but obvious after a week at sea.

This year the sailings will be 2-5 Apr and 10-13 Apr 07. Stay tuned to the next e-letter for more information on how to have your students apply.

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Items in the attachment to this e-letter. Each e-letter comes with a bit of ranting and a lot of good stuff in the pdf attachment. Here is what you will find in December stuff.pdf

Mid Year Evaluation: This is a good healthy check-up for your leadership crew as you sail into second semester.
Supporting and Inspiring is a handout that keeps true leadership in perspective.
Every Winner has Scars is a motivating piece on getting on with it.
Negotiating with the THEY factor is a great way to get your students to focus on the strengths of their presentation and not on the personalities who oppose their ideas.
Constitution Cornerstones It’s not too early to start thinking about your selection process for next year’s leaders. Make sure your selection process is sound.
Pierre Sandor at KCI has two great pieces of paper that outline how to put up a mural in his school. Great student art works wonders for the looks of your school.
Growing the Distance is a text used in Waterloo Region leadership classes. These are questions for the book that were compiled by a number of leadership teachers from Waterloo. You can pick up a copy of this text on the CASAA resource site at: http://www.casaaleadership.ca/res-pub-thumb.html

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Winter Retreat Thought

One of the reasons for going on a leadership retreat with students is to open them up to new experiences and new ways of doing things. A winter retreat is a way to rejuvenate a program and possibly introduce some younger students to the possibility of joining the leadership group. The retreat should be held away from the school because you want to allow students to break out of the normal groups and ways of thinking that they have been used to. The following three paragraphs are given to students as a way of informing them about what a leadership retreat is about.

When lobsters grow to be about one pound, they have gone through periods in their life where they have been totally vulnerable. They live most of their life in a hard shell that protects them, but it inhibits their growth. To become mature, the lobster must shed its old shell, and grow a new one, a process that takes about two days.

This isn’t a long time to be without a shell, but during that time they are left naked and open to dangers. Other creatures may eat the lobster or waves could slam it against the rocks. Yet there is no alternative if it is to grow. The lobster must endure two days of risk to grow a new shell and mature.

Humans often have to do that too! If you are to grow, you must be vulnerable for certain times in your life. Your protective shell needs to be left behind and you must be willing to let others see your thoughts and feelings. You must be willing to meet new people, to listen carefully, and to risk new experiences. After you have risked and experienced this retreat, put on your new armor and go back to work renewed and stronger.

After the retreat has come to a close, ask students what they have learned and what is part of their new shell that they have developed.

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Spring conferences are coming up, so don’t forget to check out the conference listings on the CASAA site. You will find them at: http://www.casaaleadership.ca/conferences.html

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I just lit the lights on the tree and heard the tinkle of toasted needles hitting the floor. I’m not stressed, because I have some Bailey’s in hand. Everyone have a restful, stress free and happy holiday. No exceptions!

All the best

Dave C.

“If you have the same ideas as everybody else but have them one week earlier than everyone else then you will be hailed as a visionary. But if you have them five years earlier you will be named a lunatic.”

Barry Jones

Click here for the pdf attachment called december stuff.pdf