Monthly Readings!

Learning to Lead TACSC's Monthly Menagerie of Ideas March 2005 A Monthly Collection of LEADERSHIP Ideas! ~~Click here to view the full version of this page~~ THANK YOU for visiting TACSC's MONTHLY MENAGERIE OF IDEAS. Every month you will find more ways to boost leadership, morale and involvement at your school! If you would like to submit an article for www.tacsc.org or for TACSC's Leadership Times, please email us at tacsc@tacsc.org. We want to hear what is happening at YOUR school! THIS MONTH: Officer In-Service Article - Publicicy Part II In January, we discussed the Commissioner of Publicity's responsibilities and the ways to publicize. Now that you know how to be a GREAT Publicity Chair, here's some more helpful information. This month we will share the Do's & Don'ts of Poster Making and The Best Places to Advertise! The most common method of publicizing is using POSTERS. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE! Recognition Project - Honoring Deaf History Month From March 13 - April 15, we celebrate Deaf History Month. Besides Beethoven, Helen Keller and Thomas Edison, there are many prominent figures in the past and present who did not let a partial or total hearing loss keep them from achieving their dreams. A great way to celebrate all these wonderful people and their contributions is to hold an essay contest for the whole school. Each student should research and write a paper on a famous person with a partial or total hearing loss. Included in the essay should be: how the individual influenced civilization through success in their particular endeavor and how their deafness influenced their endeavors. At an assembly, you can announce the winners of the essay contest and have them read their essays. You can choose one or two essays from each grade. Another way to celebrate Deaf History Month is to learn some sign language. Here are some helpful sites on Deaf History Month and Sign Language: http://hometown.aol.com/gjrum/DeafHistory.htm http://www.childrenslit.com/th_deaf.html http://www.metrokc.gov/dias/ocre/deaflinks.htm http://where.com/scott.net/asl/ http://www.lessontutor.com/ASLgenhome.html Holiday Activity - Easter Jelly Beans Easter comes early this year on March 27th. Easter is a reverent and important holiday. Easter is a celebration of Jesus Christ and the realization that the events of Good Friday and Easter Sunday have meaning for us today. The tomb in Jerusalem is still empty. Jesus lives, and he'll live forever. Sometimes it's difficult to explain to the younger children about the significance of Easter. One activity that can get the older and younger students interacting is to have a Jelly Bean Party. Collect lots of jelly beans and then pair up older grades with younger grades (i.e. First Grade and Eighth Grade, Second Grade with Seventh Grade) and share jelly beans while saying the following prayer. Discuss each color and the part of the Easter Story where that color is significant. Be sure to discuss Jesus' path from Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday. Try to tie in the Stations of the Cross, too. The Jelly Bean Prayer Red for the blood He gave, Green is for the grass He made, Yellow is for the sun so bright, Orange is for the edge of night. Black is for the sins that were made White is for the grace He gave, Purple is for the hour of sorrow, Pink is for the new tomorrow. Give a bag full of jelly beans, Colorful and sweet, Tell them it's a Prayer....It's a promise.. It's an Easter Treat! Prayer Service - A Lenten Prayer Lent is the springtime of the year just before Easter. It lasts for forty days. For these days we try to be the best person we can. We are getting ready for the new risen life of Jesus and we find that all around us is new life. The trees have new buds the robins have returned from their winter homes. The bulbs that we planted in the fall are beginning to push themselves up from the earth. We should try to be new persons. Are we trying to be kinder more thoughtful and happier? We are trying to make ourselves better so that we can share the new risen life with Jesus. We should try to bring happiness wherever we are. This may not be easy, but Lent is a time to try to do hard things for Jesus. What a wonderful Easter gift you would have for the Risen Lord. Service Project - Lenten Activity Lent is a great time to help other people. If we think about how much Jesus suffered and died for us, we sure can take a little time to do some service activities. Challenge yourself to do one anonymous act of service or kindness everyday for the rest of Lent. Some ideas can include: v Help teachers erase blackboard v Help mom and dad clear dishes v Help little brother/sister with homework v Pick up garbage on the sidewalk v Say hi to someone who is alone on the schoolyard v Meet new people from each grade and have lunch with them v Help someone who has dropped books, coat, etc. in the hall v Say hello to the workers in the cafeteria, in the office or in the rectory v Go to an extra Mass and pray for the soldiers overseas, the homeless, the sick and the lonely You can think of a lot of different ways to help and give service. You can even continue after Easter! Thank you for visiting LEARNING TO LEAD TACSC's MENAGERIE OF IDEAS at www.tacsc.org. See you next month!