One Week to Go!

I can't believe the workshop is almost here! Here are some updates:

1. A representative from the Morris/Sussex County FSO (Family Support Organization) will be attending! This organization supports families whose children have emotional and behaviorial challenges. She is interested in potentially having me coordinate writing-related activities (an open mic, a workshop, a poetry slam, etc.)for the young people with whom she works. How cool! She also invited me and 5-10 of my students to a mural unveiling and open mic in honor of Children's Mental Health Day on May 8th. Needless to say, I am really excited about this opportunity! Also, curriculum directors from two other area schools will be in attendance.

2. I made a Costco run yesterday to pick up snacks and some other supplies for the day. I think I got all the essentials: Pop-Tarts, granola bars, fruit snacks, and, of course mini chocolate bars and Twizzlers. Beverages are being coordinated by our cafeteria supervisor (coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and small water bottles). I picked up a 40-pack of Capri-Sun, too - just in case. I also bought mini legal pads and a few dozen pens to disperse among the goody bags.

3. Final head count: 77 students, 6 of whom are facilitating their own workshop; 6 adult presenters, 5 chaperones from other schools, and a partridge in a pear tree.

4. Today is t-shirt day. I was fortunate to receive a "friends and family" discount coupon for AC Moore, which will save me a whopping 30% off my entire regularly-priced purchase. (Their teacher discount only saves you 10%.) This is good news, in that it will help me stay within my budget. Yay, bargain shopping! I plan to get about 100 shirts, plus other items - like small thank you gifts for presenters and chaperones.

5. Monday, April 28th, is our after school Work in Progress Preparation-Palooza. I made a list of about 8 different work stations (T-Shirt Mania, Name that Tag, Goody Bag Central, etc.). Students may sign up under a station and get to work. I will get some food for them, we will put on some music, they will earn some volunteer hours, and everyone should have a pretty good time!

6. I created the program, complete with workshop descriptions and presenter bios; now, it just needs to be copied on colorful paper (Thanks, Mary. :). See #5.

7. Thanks to one of your suggestions, I am going to live blog the event. Two students volunteered to help out with that process. (I have the best students on the planet; I am sure of it.)

8. Workshop titles are as follows: Student to Student, The ART of Writing, Concrete Poetry, Journal Creation (students will get to make their own books), Songwriting 101, The Poetry of Relationship, and Organized Rambling.

9. I created two surveys - one for chaperones and one for students. Hopefully, the responses I receive will make planning future events a little easier.

10. I had a meeting with our Superintendent an April 18th to fill him in and invite him to attend. He seemed really pleased with my efforts and is looking forward to a great day on May 1.

(So am I. :)

One Month to Go!

Yes, it's true: there are exactly twenty-eight days until Work in Progress, our first ever county-wide high school writing workshop! At this point, there will be about sixty to seventy-five students in attendance. Considering it is my first year doing all of this, I am kind of glad that number is not larger. While it is a little disappointing that only three of the nine schools that received applications actually responded, one third is better than no thirds, right? I feel as though I covered all bases in trying to get more schools involved:

*I sent out an initial e-mail explaining the project to every high school English teacher (over one hundred of them) in my county.
*I sent out an e-mail prior to the mailing of the application.
*I called each school and informed them that they would be receiving the application within a week.
*I sent a reminder e-mail.

(Hmmmm... perhaps I harassed everyone too much and they all secretly wanted to send bricks through my window... :)

Anyway, the presenters are all lined up and ready to go. Two of them are former students, which I am really excited about. One of them, a recent Cornell graduate who has been published in a variety of areas, is our keynote speaker. The other is a current senior at Rutgers University who is majoring in English and Art History. I am so proud of them both and can't wait to see them inspire so many others.

Three of the other presenters are colleagues of mine: two art teachers and a fellow English teacher. Why art teachers at a writing workshop? I thought it would be great if the kids had an opportunity to create their own personalized writing journals at one of the stations and/or connect the world of written art with the world of visual art. In addition to new drafts of creative writing, they will have something else to take with them at the conclusion of the day. The last presenter is a local singer-songwriter who is going to use this talent as a focus for her workshop.

I currently have a graphic design student working on a logo that I can hopefully use on t-shirts, posters, etc. I am also going to create teacher and student surveys, so that I can get some feedback on what to improve for next time.

I am beginning to purchase items for the school goodie bags, which will contain t-shirts, programs, pens, chocolates, some magnetic poetry (I found a great deal on small sets at a dollar store in Massachusetts - wow!), and other random occurrences. Some of my students have volunteered to stay after school and help me assemble everything. They will also serve as greeters the day of, and have a variety of other tasks, including the facilitating of a "student-to-student" group at the workshop.

Oh yeah, and I still need to make a food run for library-friendly snacks and beverages.

Whew.

Do any of you have last minute thoughts or suggestions for me? If so, please let me know. In past blogs, some of you have offered great ideas; I look forward to hearing more of them!

Thanks in advance!