VOL 17 #6 A HERFF JONES BELIEVE IN YOU RESOURCE FOR ADVISERS

THINGS TO DO SECOND SEMESTER

The start of a new calendar year also usually means the second semester of the school year is imminent. Encompassing both winter and spring, this semester is full of opportunities for student activities. Consider the following when you are planning your second semester calendar: school and produce a 25 minute documentary style short film that documents the movement. Upload your video to the No Bull Challenge website by April 30, 2014, then rally your school and community to vote for it to possibly win big prizes! Check out details of how to enter at http://nobullchallenge.org/ evening out for Valentines Day. Conduct a drawing for a lucky faculty or staff member to win the package.

SOUPER OLYMPICS. Get into the

Olympic spirit and help the hungry at the same time by sponsoring a competition using cans of soup in February. Invite clubs and sports teams to compete to create a soup can sculpture, fill a shopping cart with cans of soup, and participate in relay races such as a cracker carry or pass the soup can. Donate all soup collected to a local food bank.

NATIONAL MENTORING MONTH.

Research has shown that a mentoring relationship can greatly enhance a childs prospects for leading a healthy and productive life. During National Mentoring Month in January, develop a campaign to encourage students and the adults in their lives to serve as mentors to younger students. Visit www.mentoring.org for more information.

CHINESE NEW YEAR. Ring in the

Year of the Horse on January 31 with a parade through the halls before school. In China, children receive money in lucky red paper envelopes. Simulate this custom by hiding a few red envelopes around campus with a coupon for a free treat in the cafeteria or school store and have students search for them. Coordinate with the cafeteria staff members to serve Chinese foods for lunch and festoon the cafeteria with Chinese decorations. Create paper fortune cookies with your own humorous fortunes inside to hand out at lunch. (Find directions at http://spoonful.com/crafts/paperfortune-cookies.)

MASCOT MADNESS. Just for fun,

make copies of the Winter Olympics mascot and hide some around school. Offer prizes to those who find the hidden mascots.

NO NAME-CALLING WEEK.
Celebrate kindness during No Name-Calling Week, January 2024 with a project that focuses on appreciating differences. For ideas and lesson plans visit http://www. glsen.org/nonamecallingweek.

SHOWCASE STUDENT ART.

Celebrate Youth Art Month in March by creating a gallery of student art. Have visitors to the gallery vote on their favorite piece, then purchase the one with the most votes to start a permanent gallery of student work or to hang in the main office. Host a reception for the artists and their parents.

GREAT AMERICAN NO BULL CHALLENGE. Create an anticyberbullying movement in your

CUPIDS SWEETHEART. For a staff

appreciation idea, get donations from a local restaurant and movie theater for two people to enjoy an

This newsletter is a joint effort between Herff Jones and Leadership Logistics 2014

MOST WANTED. On March 14, 1950,

the Ten Most Wanted List made its debut. Create your own Ten Most Wanted Lists for those who stand out in your school or to recognize students who dont always get recognition, such as the Top Ten Enthusiastic Students, Top Ten Skaters, Top Ten Students with the Longest Hair, and so forth.

a breakfast or lunch meeting for all the officers to discuss ways their organizations can work together to achieve shared goals.

TEACHERS PLANT THE SEEDS OF LEARNING. In honor of the arrival

of spring, give each teacher a hand trowel and a pack of seeds with a note expressing the idea that Teachers plant the seeds of learning.

crashes. Global Youth Traffic Safety Month empowers youth to develop and lead traffic safety education projects and support law enforcement and affect legislation to protect teen drivers. Visit www. noys.org for resources and contests associated with this effort.

TEACHER FEATURES. Celebrate

Teacher Appreciation Week May 59 by creating a short video profiling teachers in each of the departments or grade levels in your school. Feature one video each day during the week either on the announcements or on special screens set up in the cafeteria or commons.

KICK BUTTS DAY. Create a powerful

visual display to help students realize the deadly consequences of tobacco use and the tactics used by the tobacco industry to market their products for Kick Butts Day, March 19. For activity ideas and resources visit http://kickbuttsday.org

EARTH DAY. Reward students who

ride the bus, walk, ride their bikes, or find other ways of getting to school besides driving a car on Earth Day, April 22. Estimate how much fuel was saved and how much less pollution was generated.

PROM DRESS SWAP. Invite girls

from your school and neighboring schools to participate in a prom dress swap on a Saturday in March or April. Or, organize a consignment sale of prom dresses and take a percentage of the sale price to raise funds for your group.

JOIN HANDS DAY. Strengthen

links to senior citizens in your community by planning a multigenerational project for Join Hands Day, May 4. Refurbish a playground, remove trash from a park, plant some flowers, or check out other ideas and download a free planning guide at http://fraternalalliance.org/ join-hands-day/what-is-join-hands-day/

MYSTERY STUDENT SILHOUETTE.

Each week for the last month of school, create a silhouette out of butcher paper of four students selected at random. Hang the silhouettes and invite students to guess at their identity. Award prizes to those who guess correctly.

NATIONAL STUDENT LEADERSHIP WEEK. Recognize student leaders

who serve as officers in clubs and organizations on campus during National Student Leadership Week, April 1420, by creating locker signs with the message Thanks for Your Leadership at [School Name]. Host

TRASH IT DAY. Pick a day near the

end of the school year for students to clean out their lockers and throw all their trash on the hallway floors. Your organizations members then go through the halls to pick up the trash, recycling usable supplies for the needy.

GLOBAL YOUTH TRAFFIC SAFETY MONTH. Each May youth across

the country unite to focus on the leading cause of death for them and their peers: traffic related

Jon Speich Graduation Specialist Representing Herff Jones www.mygradshop.com herffjonesmsp@gmail.com