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NJASC Advisors Update - November 17, 2008

Here is the latest news about what is going on in your state Student Council association, and what you need to know for our upcoming events...

Award Application Deadlines Approaching!

Several award application deadlines are fast approaching - a summary of these is provided below:

  • Honor School Student Council - must be mailed to Middle Level Representative Nick Nahrwold by postmark deadline of Friday November 21.
  • High School Student Leader of the Year - must be mailed to Executive Director Lou Miller by postmark deadline of Friday November 21.
  • Middle Level Student Leader of the Year - must be mailed to Executive Director Lou Miller by postmark deadline of Friday November 21.
  • Top Ten Projects - must be mailed to Treasurer Tim Flank by postmark deadline of Friday November 21.

Application forms for each of the above award programs are available on the NJASC Online File Cabinet, located at www.njasc.org/forms. Each of these forms can be downloaded in either MS Word or Adobe PDF formats.

All of these awards will be presented at the NJASC Winter Convention, to be held on Wednesday January 7, 2009 at The College of New Jersey. Read on for more information about this upcoming event...

Registration Now Open for 2009 Convention!

The 83rd annual NJASC Winter Convention will be on Wednesday January 7, 2009 at The College of New Jersey. At this event, over 1500 student leaders and advisors will be part of the following:

  • Campaigning for 2009 State Office
  • Award Presentations
  • Keynote Speaker - Josh Sundquist
  • 2009 State Office Candidate Speeches & Election
  • Workshop Sessions (see below)
  • Advisors' Workshop & Luncheon
  • LTC Reunion
  • Much, much, more!

Registration Forms have now been posted at www.njasc.org/forms and can be mailed to Wendy at Palmyra HS or e-mailed to wbsitzler@njasc.org. The cost is only $15.00 per student and advisor. We encourage all of our member schools to take part in this annual event.

Our keynote speaker will be Josh Sundquist, a 24-year-old paralympic ski racer and nationally known inspirational speaker. At age nine Josh Sundquist was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer and given a fifty percent chance to live. After spending a year on chemotherapy and having his left leg was amputated, doctors declared Josh cured and he took up ski racing. He was named to the U.S. Ski Team for the 2006 Paralympics in Torino, Italy. Josh began speaking to groups about his experiences at age ten, and has shared his story as a keynote speaker at schools, Fortune 500 companies, and even at the White House. At 18, Josh became the second youngest person ever accepted as a Professional Member of the National Speakers Association. You can find out much more about Josh at www.joshsundquist.com, and we look forward to welcoming him to the Garden State on January 7.

After the keynote, it is a tradition for students to present Workshop Sessions to share ideas with other student leaders and schools about the great programs and projects that your student councils are doing. We hope to have a good number of students present one or more workshop sessions at this year's convention - CLICK HERE to download a Workshop Application Form and get your student leaders actively involved in sharing great ideas.

As was the case last year, there will be three workshop sessions following the keynote address so that students will be able to attend and/or present workshops and still attend the LTC Reunion. This schedule also allows more flexibility in terms of when students can eat lunch - TCNJ will again provide an all-you-can-eat buffet at Eickhoff Dining Hall. However, this year we will be shortening the workshop sessions slightly to end the convention one half-hour earlier than in the past. We will reconvene at 2:10 p.m. to announce the 2009 State Officers and the convention will end once they have been sworn in, at 2:30 p.m.

Who will be your 2009 State Officers?

The following students from the Northern Counties of our state will attend the Executive Interview meeting on Friday December 12 at South Brunswick High School, as they prepare to run for 2009 State Office:

HIGH SCHOOL:

  • Yousef Abbasi - Union HS
  • Samantha Berk - South Brunswick HS
  • Deanna Cafone - Nutley HS
  • Julie Duncan - Parsippany HS
  • Alex Gallego - Parsippany Hills HS
  • Elizabeth Kerian - Hunterdon Central Regional HS
  • Kayeleigh Mallon - High Point Regional HS
  • Devon McRimmon - J.P. Stevens HS
  • Esraa Omer - Bayonne HS
  • Chris Salemme - Westfield HS
  • Christian Truglio - West Morris Central HS
  • Madison Waterfield - Somerville HS

MIDDLE LEVEL:

  • Jessica Anastasio - Warren Hills MS
  • Madison Brown - Stewartsville MS
  • Geneva Gleason - Roosevelt IS
  • Michael Hughes - Edison IS
  • Colby Thomas - Brooklawn MS

We commend all of the above student leaders on taking the first step toward possibly becoming a 2009 State Officer, and wish them well in both the interview process and the upcoming election. We will announce the slate of candidates for 2009 State Office following the December 12 Executive interview meeting.

Join us for LEAD 2009 in Harrisburg!

The National Association of Student Councils (NASC) will be sponsoring the 2009 LEAD Conference from March 13-15 in Harrisburg, PA. Over 500 student leaders from several states will get together to hear nationally recognized speakers, share great ideas, and "Energize Their Leadership". Featured speakers will include Paul Bernabei, Willow Sweeney (Top 20 Training), Bob Tryanski, and Byron Garrett.

We will be putting together a delegation to attend this regional conference. The cost, including registration, hotel (students 3-4 to a room, advisors 2 to a room), meals, and driving expenses will be $300.00 per student or advisor ($400.00 for non-NASC member schools). We are requiring that any student - except for 2008 and 2009 State Officers - that attends the LEAD Conference must be accompanied by their advisor.

If you are interested joining our delegation to LEAD 2009, please contact Lou at lmiller@njasc.org before December 15. You can also find out more about the NASC and LEAD Conferences at www.nasc.us.

Some quick reminders...

If your e-mail address has changed, or if you know of fellow advisors who are not receiving these updates, please contact Executive Director Lou Miller at lmiller@njasc.org.

Finally, as this Thanksgiving approaches we would like to thank all of you for the hard work you do both in your own schools to further student leadership as well as your support of NJASC programs and activities throughout the year. We look forward to seeing all of you and your students in January, and to continuing the growth of NJASC both in size as well as the quantity and quality of leadership training and opportunities for student leaders throughout our state...