OH MY GOODNESS!

Judged projects are due right after February vacation! That's only two months! Hope you're starting to work on Global Marketing, Interview Skills, Entrepreneurship, Economic Research Projects, Presentation Management Team and Individual, and any other judged event is due at that time.

Get crackin!

Alumni - any tips for the students to meet their deadlines?

A Good Time Had By All!

Wow, was it cold today! I would like to thank the kids who showed up to walk; Kevin, Shaun, Amy, Tim, Chris, Jessica, Courtney, Bobby, Kayla, Maria (Kayla's friend) Caitlyn, and Arsenio. (going from memory around the table!) It was a nice brisk walk and when we got inside the hotel, all of our cheeks were red. Well, mine were. :)

So how much money do you think we raised? I'll tell you so you're not in suspense. We raised just over $1,500! Kudos to you guys. To the people who couldn't make it, I appreciate your donations too. You should have seen all of the special athletes at the Jolly Jaunt today. They truly are so special and they warm my heart. It's just a great feeling knowing that we help these kids and adults be all they can be.

So, I'm going to go enjoy a cup of hot cocoa. Thanks again everyone. You never cease to amaze me!

Oh! Congratulations to Bobby for collecting the most donations. He has a nice prize coming to him on Monday! Thanks for all your efforts, Bobby!!

Special Olympics - Jolly Jaunt

So yeah! The Jolly Jaunt is this weekend!! If you would like to donate to this worthwhile cause, click the link shown above.

I need everyone to bring me their cash donations by Friday. If you are walking, then I need you to show up at 11:30 this weekend. I will already have your money on Friday and can register us as a team. It's worked out very smoothly the past few years.

Alumni - you are welcome to attend with us. I just ask that if you attend, you raise the $35.00 entry fee. Please comment here or send me an email if you are planning to be part of the team. Oh, you could also register for our team online at the link above.

Won't it be cool to raise more money than TMLP this year????

Hoping for a blow-out (in donations - not my tires) :)

Thanksgiving Reminders....

Hey all. As Thanksgiving approaches, I thought it might be nice if we share a memory that touches each one of us about Thanksgiving. How about it?

My memory of Thanksgiving? When I was a kid - yeah, younger than you guys, I remember going to my grandmother and grandfather's house. I loved it so much because we all got to eat at the big dining room table. I felt so "fancy" eating there. We ate on my nana's china (which I own today) and I loved being with my cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents. The highlight of the day? Playing Pokeno. I felt so grown up playing that game. It's like bingo with playing cards. I wish so much that I soaked in more of the memories while my family were alive and well. It seems like many of them are gone now and I'd give anything to see them again. Advice? Hug your nanas and grandpas, aunts and uncles, moms and dads, and really let these experiences sink in and count your blessings. :) Okay, I'm off my soap box.

What are your memories?

Talent Show full of surprises!

Wow! What a talent show we had, huh? Thanks to the help of the officer team, the members, administrators, teachers, faculty and staff! This event just keeps getting bigger and bigger every year. Even some of the alumni that came to watch, ended up helpng out. I thank you all for that! (you know who you are.)

So what's the next thing in store for us? The Jolly Jaunt, of course! Don't forget to register for our team at jollyjaunt dot org. So far Bobby Stephanian has collected the most money and will be winning my prize! When you guys see your family for Thanksgiving, you can hit them up for some donations. Who wouldn't want to give a donation to the Special Olympics?? The Special Olympics Motto is, "Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt." Words maybe we can all live by?

Until next time.....

New Officers

I'm not sure who is checking the blog yet, but I thought I'd tell you that we have a meeting on Monday, October 15 at 9:30 in the cafeteria. We'll be voting on our officers. Members who have paid dues may attend the meeting.

Candidates who have turned in their forms so far? Kevin Benjamin for President, Sarah Fabianski for Secretary and Michael Williams for Treasurer. Good luck to everyone! I'm excited for a productive, fun year....

A New Year!

Hey everyone! We'll be kicking off this year's festivities next week (B week). I'd like you all to think about who would like to run for an officer position. I need a president, vice president, secretary, treasurer and historian. The officers will be responsible for attending all after school activities and assisting the advisor with the fundraising activities, etc.

This year's talent show will be on November 16! I hope to get a lot of BPA volunteers to help make it a success! Tickets will be $5.00. Spread the word to all your friends and family members so that we can have another sell-out crowd!

This year's theme for BPA is "Find Your Fit". What does that mean to you? What do you hope to get out of the year with BPA? Who do you think will make it to Reno? Post your answers!

Judged Events

Deadline is April 2. That means I need your judged projects electronically by Friday! I will then put them in the mail. :)

New York....Here We Come!

So there I was last Saturday - on the bus heading to states. I sat in the front of the bus taking every morsel of rest being offered at this point. Everyone was dressed in their most professional outfits and looking quite grown up. I heard some laughing, saw some smiles as well as blank faces on the students who had no idea what they were in for. Some of the chatter I could hear had to do with "profit margin, target market, flip charts, and marketing plans". Who were these kids? I am reminded that if you give kids the opportunity to shine, they will do just that. And shine they did!

Our school was very successful this year at states. Global Marketing is an event that we have done well with since the event came into being about four years ago. We took a first place and third place in that event. We took a first in desktop publishing, yeah Beth!! We took a second in fundamental word processing, third and fourth in entrepreneurship, second in prepared speech, fourth and fifth in database and third in graphic design! I had two students elected as state officers and three students will be receiving their Ambassador Torch Awards! That means 16 kids are going to New York City in May!

Thank you to everyone for behaving so well. I hope you had some fun, met some new people and took away a lot of "Good Times". *get it???* "Good Times" Oh, I crack myself up.

It's Now or Never!

So it's Saturday, March 10 and I'm at school waiting for the 31 students to show up for states. Phew, what a ride it's been! I feel rested this morning and I'm assuming that the day will go well. Adrenaline kicks in and even when your body should be rebelling about the schedule you're trying to keep (when you're old like me!) I get pumped by the enthusiasm from the 600+ kids at the conference.

Things I'll be noticing today but rarely talk about? Young people, slews of them, having fun. Meeting new people and gaining new experiences that will remain with them for a lifetime. I remember back in my high school years having those experiences that never fade away. The people will leave you, but the memories never will. This I promise. And no I don't think I'm any great Saint for being the BPA advisor. Anyone could do it. But you all provide many memories and make me learn more about "people" every day. Even as you will all leave and continue on the rest of your lives, you've all enriched mine in ways which cannot be measured. This is why I chose to be the advisor for our chapter - it's purely selfish, I assure you. This is why I'll be up until 2 a.m. this weekend. This is why I'll give you a nasty look or roll my eyes at you if you tell me you don't have your style manual or a number two pencil. :)

Be safe, be good, have fun.

Always,
Mrs. Sylvia

Time's Gettin' Away From Us!

Guess what I just realized? When we go away this weekend, we will have to set our clocks forward for daylight savings time! Know what that means? We'll be losing an hour of sleep! I vote for curfew to be an hour earlier now. You guys agree??

Sorry Mrs. Powers!

Deadlines have arrived...

Wow. As February comes to a close, it means that states is just a short couple of weeks away. Many students who are competing in a judged event have their deadlines today. I've seen one Global Marketing project out of two. I've seen one Entrepreneurship project out of two. (That's because he's my son!) I have yet to see 1 Global, 1 Entrepreneurship, and 1 Graphic Design Promotion. But hopefully by the end of the day, they'll be in my in-box so I can email them to the proper judges.

So with registration occurring last week, it seems we're taking about 30 students to the state competition this year. It's a smaller group than in the past, but I'm happy that it will be a manageable size. Mrs. Powers is officially registered as an assistant BPA Advisor and will be going with us this year. Boy is she in for a ride! I haven't told her that she can't go to bed before 3 a.m. - so don't any of you tell her! I think that because she has three small children, she thinks that getting away for a couple of nights and sleeping in a hotel will afford her much needed rest. HAH! shhhhhhh.....

Well good luck to the remaining students who have to meed their deadline today. Please, come through! Not for me, but for a chance to see New York City. Oh, Jessie just told me yesterday that Barack Obama will be the guest speaker at nationals! That's exciting - there will be Secret Service Agents all over the place. :) Good luck everyone!

Gearing Up Folks!

So this is crunch week. We have to meet a whole bunch of deadlines this week like paying for states, filling out the registration form online and emailing it to me, Interview Skills (Advanced too) and others. I've been staying after school a couple days a week but guess what - only a couple of people have come after school for assistance. That means that either everyone is totally all set OR they're just thinking their work will magically be done on time.

Kevin has completed his Advanced Interview Skills as well as begun getting the ball rolling for his national candidacy! He's been working like a dog. Bristol-Plymouth has never been home to a national officer before and it's very exciting! I wish Kevin the best of luck and I hope our readers can offer him a whole bunch of encouragement here!

Sara has been perfecting her speech. She's done a marvelous job. The Global Marketing people? I have no idea if they've even started because they haven't asked for a bit of help. Scary. But they're seasoned BPA members and know what to expect.

Anyway - this is the most exciting time of year! Once the State weekend arrives, there's no stopping it. You're either ready or you're not. Those who are will get a nice view of the Empire State Building! Who.......will........I........take........to.........New.........York........City??

Ramen Noodles Overload

When we go to our state competition, we will make sure you eat. That being said, however, we don't provide snack food in the manner in which teens like to snack! So I always suggest that roommates get together and plan who will bring what type of snack food. This event should be BPA's next judged event! I can't tell you how much time and effort the students put into the snack and junk food they're bringing. When they show up to get on the bus, they have a suitcase with clothing and a bigger suitcase with food, bottled water, gatorade and soda. Some people have brought coolers.

If I were judging the event, I'd probably look at the organization. Did you pack the bananas with the Gatorade? Not a good mix. Points off for that. Did you bring a cooler that didn't leak? Good job. But most of all, I'd check to see how well you guaged how much food you'd eat. Because at the end of the weekend, people are so sick of gummy worms that they leave all of their junk food behind and board the bus looking a little green. Those who left with no food planned accordingly and would get the most points. Those who leave drawers full of food and beverage would score the least points.

My advice to you is this. Since there will probably be four people in your room, plan for that. Don't bring more than four normal people eat! Have you ever heard the phrase, "My eyes were bigger than my stomach"? I suggest you not waste your money buying food that you're going to leave behind. If I kept all the food that my students left behind at conferences, we could have fed a small country for a month.

And we're off!

I was very happy today to stay after school with four students who are trying their hardest to make it to nationals. Sara from Comm. Health is working on a speech regarding philanthropy in business. Huh? After previewing and hearing her speech, we actually think it might be a little too long! Good work, Sara! If you keep at this pace, you'll perfect the art of public speaking in time for states!

Three other Comm. Health girls stayed to work on Entrepreneurship and Medical Office Procedures. They ran into some trouble with some of the terminology and decided to go seek expert medical help.

Jacquie is doing entrepreneurship and so is Mike. Their business ideas seem pretty fabulous to me, (I won't write them here because it's super-ultra secret!) but it seems they have a lot of work ahead of them. Today I showed them both some pretty decent reference materials I had which could help them with their business plans.

How about it previous members - have any advice for the computer and judged events? If you are an alumni posting here, it would be excellent if you included your year of graduation so the others know, okay? Thanks for reading!

BPA 2007!

Hey Everyone!

This year is flying! Its going great though! I hope everyone is working hard on their competitions. The best thing to do is to be prepared, and have an awesome attitude =) As a senior, the best thing I can say is to make your deadlines because you know how they can just creep up on you.

Some things to think about if your in a group would be splitting the parts. So if some people are better at writing, than designing, give them a writing portion of the project. Not only will it improve you project, it can also help you gain some time. Also, PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE! If you want I, or maybe some other BPA members, would be more than happy to watch teams present. Not only could you get their feedback, it would also calm your nerves some and you would become familiar with presenting in front of someone before you go to the judges. Try in front of a mirror too!! I know its a little weird, but it helps to hear yourself speak and see how you present yourself.

If you need any help or opinions with your project, or even want to ask some questions about what States is going to be like feel free to ask away!

Skirt or no skirt? That is the question.

I pose this question because if you are a BPA member or if you have been in the past, you know my position with regard to the female students wearing skirts. (Sorry guys, you're not included in this post.)

I maintain my position when it comes to being dressed professionally, especially for judged events. You can never have another chance to make a first impression. When young people take the time to look as professional as they can, the judges can sometimes overlook small imperfections in the presentation itself. But when a teen enters a judged event looking mediocre (just like everyone else) you've done nothing to set yourself apart.

I've said this before. I think of myself as your "coach". A coach is hired because of their expertise on the subject and I do consider myself pretty darn close to an expert on this subject. Players on teams listen to their coaches so they have the best chance for the big prize. Coaches also take the heat if their teams consistently lose. So my professional advice is for the girls to wear skirts and give yourself the best possible advantage over the mediocre students. Set yourselves apart and after the competition, when you go back to your room, you can dress anyway you want. Well, kind of. :)

What do you think?

Roomies

Hi everyone. Just wanted to remind you that you should be thinking about your rooming assignments. There should be 4 people to a room. Sometimes it works out that we'll fill rooms with only 2 or 3 people, but if you don't fill up with 4, you jeopardize me coming in and separating you. But just remember - we're hardly in the rooms anyway. It's a place to hang our heads to rejuvinate for the next day!

Also - judged events should be in full swing. All of them are due February 28. There is a whole week of vacation in there too, so you'd be surprised at how quick the time comes up on us.

Staying Connected To Your Roots

Wow. I'm pleasantly surprised with the responses from our alumni! I would love to hear what you are all doing, what successes you've had as well as challenges you've overcome. My thoughts are my high school students probably go through their days with that glazed look in their eye - hardly noticing what's going on around them. But once they get out into the real world, they can reflect back and think, "Hmmm...high school wasn't that bad after all!"

There are many moments in a teacher's life when we say to ourselves, "I know why I do this." (at least for me - I suppose I should speak for myself) But there are also days that I can get that glazed look too. One of the moments that shake me are when graduates connect back to their roots. You can't imagine how difficult or bittersweet it is every year when our "kids" graduate! The relationships that we form, trials and tribulations, magnets stuck up noses, break-ups and break-downs, poker faces on scary rides, (I think I still owe Sara and Kevin an ice cream for that one!) and all the like, make us like an extended family. The one major exception is that we don't have the opportunity for a Thanksgiving dinner to bring us back together.

So my invitation to the alumni is to stay connected and pass on your acquired life skills with your Protégé classmates. With this blog, I'm hopeful we can pass the techno-turkey and avoid gravy spills on my tablecloth. :)

Welcome to the blog!

Hello BPA members! I thought this blog might be another way for us to communicate with each other and to maybe offer up some helpful hints. I would ask that if any of you add a comment to this blog that you please keep it appropriate. This is an extension of our classroom, okay?

Cool! So what do you think?